Saudi king appoints adviser as new ambassador to US
US-educated diplomat Adel al-Jubeir was sent to repair Saudi image in America after Sept. 11 attacks.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFsaudi abdullah 88(photo credit: CNN)
Saudi King Abdullah announced Monday that Adel al-Jubeir was the kingdom's next ambassador to the United States, according to a royal decree posted on the state-run news agency's Web site.
Al-Jubeir, a commoner, is a US-educated diplomat who was drafted by Abdullah in 2001 to repair Saudi Arabia's image in America after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Al-Jubeir, 44, was foreign affairs adviser to King Abdullah when he was crown prince, is replacing Prince Turki al-Faisal, who quit last month after 15 months on the job.
Saudi Arabia has had only two other ambassadors in the past 23 years: al-Faisal and Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who left the post in 2005 after 22 years to become Saudi Arabia's national security adviser.
Al-Jubeir was educated in Texas, at North Texas University, and in Washington at Georgetown University.