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Yousef Al-Benyan Devotes Vast Experience to Serve Saudi Education System

Saudi Education Minister Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan. (SPA)
Saudi Education Minister Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan. (SPA)
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Yousef Al-Benyan Devotes Vast Experience to Serve Saudi Education System

Saudi Education Minister Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan. (SPA)
Saudi Education Minister Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan. (SPA)

Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan was appointed as Saudi Minister of Education on Tuesday by a Royal Decree by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz.

A holder of advanced degrees in economics and industrial and economic management, Al-Benyan embarks on a journey to develop the education sector in the Kingdom, and to devote his vast experience to achieve the best learning environment for future generations.

Al-Benyan has held the position of Vice-Chairman and CEO of Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), the world’s largest petrochemicals manufacturers, since 2015.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in industrial management, in addition to many specialized diplomas in executive management.

Throughout his rich career, he occupied several posts, most notably Vice-Chairman and CEO of SABIC, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SABIC Agri-Nutrients, SABIC Investment and Local Content Development Company (Nusaned), the Gulf Petrochemicals and Chemicals Association (GPCA), and the Petrochemical Manufacturers Committee. He was also member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Tadawul Group and the Saudi Information Technology Company (SITE).

Al-Benyan was also appointed Chairman of the Business Group (B20) of the Group of Twenty (G20) under the Saudi Presidency. Moreover, he chaired the boards of a number of companies, and was member of many business boards, forums, boards of institutions, bodies and programs at the national and global levels.

Coming from the corridors of industrial giants, Al-Benyan is expected to contribute to the alignment of the education sector with Saudi Arabia’s goal to improve the learning environment and to stimulate creativity and innovation in order to meet the requirements of national development and the needs of the labor market.

The minister is also expected to employ his administrative experience in the building of work systems, executive strategies, and awareness of the conditions for industrial and scientific success, in line with Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to harmonize the outputs of the educational system with the needs of the labor market, expand vocational training to advance economic development, and concentrate scholarship opportunities on areas that serve the national economy.

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Three-Quarters of UN Members Support Palestinian Statehood 

Pro-Palestinian protesters shout slogans at Syntagma Square during a protest, part of demonstrations taking place across Greece, in Athens, August 10, 2025. (Reuters)
Pro-Palestinian protesters shout slogans at Syntagma Square during a protest, part of demonstrations taking place across Greece, in Athens, August 10, 2025. (Reuters)
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Three-Quarters of UN Members Support Palestinian Statehood 

Pro-Palestinian protesters shout slogans at Syntagma Square during a protest, part of demonstrations taking place across Greece, in Athens, August 10, 2025. (Reuters)
Pro-Palestinian protesters shout slogans at Syntagma Square during a protest, part of demonstrations taking place across Greece, in Athens, August 10, 2025. (Reuters)

Three-quarters of UN members have already or soon plan to recognize Palestinian statehood, with Australia on Monday becoming the latest to promise it will at the UN General Assembly in September.

The Israel-Hamas war, raging in Gaza since the Palestinian group's attack on October 7, 2023, has revived a global push for Palestinians to be given a state of their own.

The action breaks with a long-held view that Palestinians could only gain statehood as part of a negotiated peace with Israel.

According to an AFP tally, at least 145 of the 193 UN members now recognize or plan to recognize a Palestinian state, including France, Canada and Britain.

Here is a quick recap of the Palestinians' quest for statehood:

On November 15, 1988, during the first Palestinian intifada, or uprising against Israeli rule, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat unilaterally proclaimed an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.

He made the announcement in Algiers at a meeting of the exiled Palestinian National Council, which adopted the two-state solution as a goal, with independent Israeli and Palestinian states existing side-by-side.

Minutes later, Algeria became the first country to officially recognize an independent Palestinian state.

Within a week, dozens of other countries, including much of the Arab world, India, Türkiye, most of Africa and several central and eastern European countries followed suit.

The next wave of recognitions came in late 2010 and early 2011, at a time of crisis for the Middle East peace process.

South American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Chile, answered calls by the Palestinians to endorse their statehood claims.

This came in response to Israel's decision to end a temporary ban on Jewish settlement-building in the occupied West Bank.

In 2011, with peace talks at a standstill, the Palestinians pushed ahead with a campaign for full UN membership.

The quest failed, but in a groundbreaking move on October 31 of that year, the UN cultural agency UNESCO voted to accept the Palestinians as a full member, much to the dismay of Israel and the United States.

In November 2012, the Palestinian flag was raised for the first time at the United Nations in New York after the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to "non-member observer state".

Three years later, the International Criminal Court also accepted the Palestinians as a state party.

Israel's offensive in Gaza after the October 7, 2023 attack has boosted support for Palestinian statehood.

Four Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and the Bahamas) and Armenia took the diplomatic step in 2024.

So did four European countries: Norway, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia, the latter three EU members.

Within the European Union, this was a first in 10 years since Sweden's move in 2014, which resulted in years of strained relations with Israel.

Other member states, such as Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, had already done so in 1988, long before joining the EU. On the other hand, some former Eastern bloc countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, do not or no longer recognize a state of Palestine.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday that "Australia will recognize the right of the Palestinian people to a state of their own" at the UN General Assembly.

France said last month it intends to recognize a Palestinian state come September, while Britain said it would do the same unless Israel takes "substantive steps", including agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Canada also plans to recognize a Palestinian state in September, Prime Minister Mark Carney said, marking a dramatic policy shift that was immediately rejected by Israel.

Among other countries that could also formally express recognition, Malta, Finland and Portugal have raised the possibility.