Ali Ibrahim Al Naimi served as the Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources from 1995 until 2016. Before that, he was the first Saudi man to serve as President of Aramco, having held the role from 1983.
His Upbringing and Education
Ali Ibrahim Al Naimi was born in 1935 in the Al Rakah area of Dhahran in the Eastern Province.
He had his early education at Al-Jabal School, which was established and maintained by Aramco, as it was then known. After that, he was eligible for his first employment with the organisation.
He qualified in 1956 to undertake several study-abroad programmes. His studies started in Beirut, where he attended the American University and later the International College.
Al Naimi continued his education after that, graduating from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania with a bachelor’s degree in geology in 1962 and Stanford University with a master’s degree in 1963.
In 1995, he received an honorary doctorate from Edinburgh, Scotland’s Harriot-Watt University in appreciation of his noteworthy work at Saudi Aramco in the areas of oil and gas administration and production.
His Positions
During his time with Saudi Aramco, he advanced through the ranks of the oil works, from works supervisor to assistant supervisor, and then to manager.
Al Naimi’s first senior management role came in 1975 when he became Vice President of Production and Water Injection.
By 1978, he had advanced to senior vice president of the oil business, and in 1980, he won election to the company’s board of directors.
Al Naimi became Executive Vice President of Business in 1982, making him the company’s first Saudi president. In addition to his role as company president, he served as Chief Executive Officer in 1988.
Awards and Prizes
He received several honours and awards from both domestic and foreign authorities, including a second-class scarf and an award from King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz during the 2009 launch of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
He received several honorary doctorates, including:
- Harriot Watt University in Edinburgh in 1995.
- Seoul National University in Korea in 2008.
- Peking University in the People’s Republic of China in 2009.
- AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland, in 2011.
- The Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, USA, in 2012.
