Saudi Arabia’s Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan has been appointed as the 11th Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States through a royal decree by Crown Prince Mohammed (in his role as Deputy King) on Saturday. King Salman issued a decree earlier in the day ordering the Crown Prince to “to steer the state’s affairs” while His Majesty is in Egypt for the Arab League-European Union Summitt.
The same royal decree named Prince Khaled bin Salman as Deputy Defence Minister of Saudi Arabia and an additional decree ordered a one-month salary bonus to those Saudi Arabian soldiers stationed on the front lines of the country’s southern border with Yemen.
Her Royal Highness is the first female ambassador from Saudi Arabia to any country. She will be the first Saudi woman to head a diplomatic mission in any form, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Princess Reema replaces Prince Khaled (King Salman’s son) as the US Ambassador, a role he held since 2017. Her father, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, served as the Kingdom’s Ambassador to the US from 1983 to 2005. Prince Bandar was a friend of President George W. Bush with some jokingly calling him Bandar Bush due to the pair’s close friendship.
As a result of her father’s position, the Princess spent many years of her life in the United States and graduated from George Washington University in Washington D.C. with a Bachelor of Arts degree in museum studies.
The Princess has held various leadership roles in the Kingdom and around the world including the International Olympic Committee Women in Sports Commission, as well as the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee and the Saudi General Sports Authority’s (GSA) Deputy of Planning and Development.
She is also a founding member of the Zahra Breast Cancer Awareness Association.
Princess Reema was formerly married to Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Nasser. Together, they had two children together, a son, Turki and daughter, Sarah. The couple divorced in 2012.
