Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08RIYADH1804
2008-12-15 11:31:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Riyadh
how-toVZCZCXRO6294 PP RUEHDE RUEHDIR DE RUEHRH #1804 3501131 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 151131Z DEC 08 FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9641 INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 001804
SIPDIS
DHAHRAN SENDS,
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, PASS TO MARIA SISK
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: NEW SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO BAHRAIN
Classified By: Consul General Joseph Kenny for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 001804
SIPDIS
DHAHRAN SENDS,
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, PASS TO MARIA SISK
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: NEW SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO BAHRAIN
Classified By: Consul General Joseph Kenny for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)
1. (C) Summary. Former minister of Social Affairs,
Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz al-Akkas, will likely be appointed to
the much-coveted, high profile Saudi ambassadorship to
Bahrain. Post does not know how soon to expect the
appointment of the new ambassador. End Summary.
2. (C) In a discussion with Abdulmohsen al-Akkas's office
manager, he confided that the well-connected former minister
has been lobbying for the ambassadorship to Bahrain. He also
said that after resigning as minister of Social Affairs in
May 2008, al-Akkas quietly turned down an informal request to
be ambassador to Ireland. Al-akkas has a close relationship
with the powerful Riyadh Emir Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al
Saud, which makes his desire to be ambassador to Bahrain a
likely prospect. Because of the close and cooperative
relationship between the Bahraini and Saudi ruling families,
the Saudi ambassadorship to Bahrain is seen as a high
visibility post that has traditionally been reserved for non
royals.
--------------
Biographical Information
--------------
3. (U) Prior to his ministerial assignment, al-Akkas served
as a member of the Majlis al-Shoura (Consultative Council),
chairing the Foreign Affairs Committee. Before joining the
Majlis he worked in a number of capacities at the Saudi
Research & Marketing Group (SRMG),working closely with
then-Chairman Ahmed bin Salman Al Saud (the late son of the
Emir of Riyadh). SRMG is a large and prominent media
conglomerate that publishes widely read newspapers such as
Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Eqtissadia and Arab News. Like so many
Saudi ministers and ambassadors before him, he spent more
than a decade of his early professional career with the oil
giant Saudi Aramco, predominantly in the influential Policy
Planning Department. He has been an active board member with
the Chambers of Commerce in Saudi Arabia and has represented
the Gulf Cooperation Council on several trade delegations to
Europe, Canada, Japan and the U.S. He is a founding member
of the National Society for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
(2004). He received a BA in economics and a MA in political
science from Washington University at Seattle. He has been
nominated as a PhD candidate in political science at the same
university, though he has not completed this degree.
(Approved by: JKENNY)
FRAKER
SIPDIS
DHAHRAN SENDS,
STATE FOR NEA/ARP, PASS TO MARIA SISK
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2018
TAGS: PGOV PINR
SUBJECT: NEW SAUDI AMBASSADOR TO BAHRAIN
Classified By: Consul General Joseph Kenny for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)
1. (C) Summary. Former minister of Social Affairs,
Abdulmohsen Abdulaziz al-Akkas, will likely be appointed to
the much-coveted, high profile Saudi ambassadorship to
Bahrain. Post does not know how soon to expect the
appointment of the new ambassador. End Summary.
2. (C) In a discussion with Abdulmohsen al-Akkas's office
manager, he confided that the well-connected former minister
has been lobbying for the ambassadorship to Bahrain. He also
said that after resigning as minister of Social Affairs in
May 2008, al-Akkas quietly turned down an informal request to
be ambassador to Ireland. Al-akkas has a close relationship
with the powerful Riyadh Emir Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al
Saud, which makes his desire to be ambassador to Bahrain a
likely prospect. Because of the close and cooperative
relationship between the Bahraini and Saudi ruling families,
the Saudi ambassadorship to Bahrain is seen as a high
visibility post that has traditionally been reserved for non
royals.
--------------
Biographical Information
--------------
3. (U) Prior to his ministerial assignment, al-Akkas served
as a member of the Majlis al-Shoura (Consultative Council),
chairing the Foreign Affairs Committee. Before joining the
Majlis he worked in a number of capacities at the Saudi
Research & Marketing Group (SRMG),working closely with
then-Chairman Ahmed bin Salman Al Saud (the late son of the
Emir of Riyadh). SRMG is a large and prominent media
conglomerate that publishes widely read newspapers such as
Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Eqtissadia and Arab News. Like so many
Saudi ministers and ambassadors before him, he spent more
than a decade of his early professional career with the oil
giant Saudi Aramco, predominantly in the influential Policy
Planning Department. He has been an active board member with
the Chambers of Commerce in Saudi Arabia and has represented
the Gulf Cooperation Council on several trade delegations to
Europe, Canada, Japan and the U.S. He is a founding member
of the National Society for Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
(2004). He received a BA in economics and a MA in political
science from Washington University at Seattle. He has been
nominated as a PhD candidate in political science at the same
university, though he has not completed this degree.
(Approved by: JKENNY)
FRAKER