Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has reshuffled his cabinet and chosen the first-ever woman deputy-minister, the government announced on Saturday. According to the AFP, the shakeup includes new education, justice and information ministers, a new supreme court chief and a new head of the consultative Shura council, along with the nomination of a deputy education minister for women's education.

Norah al-Faiz became the first holder of the new position, the most senior ever granted to a woman in the kingdom. Abdullah has also ordered the removal of Sheikh Ibrahim al-Ghaith, head of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Additionally, he ordered the removal of Sheikh Saleh al-Lihedan, chief of the kingdom's highest tribunal, the Supreme Council of Justice.

Mohammed al Jasser was chosen to be the new governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), promoted from vice-governor to replace Hamad Saud al-Sayyari.

The cabinet reshuffle is the first to take place since King Abdullah took the throne in August 2005.

© 2009 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)