Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf


Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Assaf was the former Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs serving from 27 December 2018 to 23 October 2019. He is the former long serving finance minister of Saudi Arabia and former state minister of Saudi Arabia.

Early life and education

Ibrahim was born in the Qassim Province in central Saudi Arabia on 28 January 1949. He received a bachelor of arts degree in economic and political science from King Saud University, Riyadh, in 1971. He later obtained a master of arts degree in economics from the University of Denver in 1976 and a PhD in economics from Colorado State University in 1982.

Career

Ibrahim initially pursued an academic career, becoming a teaching assistant and then visiting lecturer at King Abdulaziz Military Academy from 1971 to 1983. He was appointed an assistant professor and head of the Department of Administrative Services in 1982, and served until 1986. During that period, he also served as economic adviser to the Saudi Fund for Development.
After leaving academia, Dr. Al-Assaf moved to Washington, DC where he represented Saudi Arabia at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In 1986, he was appointed alternate executive director at the IMF for Saudi Arabia. He left in 1989 to take up the executive directorship for Saudi Arabia at the World Bank.
Upon his return to Saudi Arabia in 1995, he served briefly as vice governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, the country's central bank. He left to join the Council of Ministers as minister of state in October 1995. In January 1996, he was appointed minister of finance and national economy, a position that was renamed minister of finance in 2003. He replaced Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al-Khuwaiter as finance minister.
In addition to being finance minister, Ibrahim was a member of the board of directors of Saudi Aramco from 1996 and was the chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development and a member of the Public Investment Fund board.
In July 2017, Al-Assaf led the Saudi delegation in the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany. In January 2018, he led a top level delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf was named foreign minister of Saudi Arabia in December 2018 replacing Adel al-Jubeir in the post. His tenure ended in October 2019 when Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud named as the minister.

Detention

On 4 November 2017, Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf was detained in Saudi Arabia in a "corruption crackdown" conducted by a new royal anti-corruption committee. However, the investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing, where he returned to his official duties and his name was cleared.

Personal life

Ibrahim is married and has four children.