Saudi King Abdullah has for the first time appointed a woman to the council of ministers as part of a Cabinet reshuffling, Saudi owned Al-Arabiya television station reported Saturday.
King Abdullah announced a new supreme court chief, a new minister of health, a new justice minister and a new information minister as part of the reshuffling, Al-Arabiya reported. King Abdullah appointed Noor Al-Fayez to the Saudi Council of Ministers. She will serve in a new position as deputy minister for women’s education. “People are very excited about this,” said Khaled Al-Maeena, editor-in-chief of Arab News, an English-language daily newspaper in Saudi Arabia. “This sends a clear signal that the King means business. Instead of appointing some bureaucrat, he appointed a woman.”