Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — The reign of King Abdulaziz Al Saud, founder of modern Saudi Arabia, was a time of firsts.
Having unified the Kingdom in 1932, the monarch turned to building the foundations of a modern state.
Institutions, infrastructure, and agreements that began under his leadership would shape Saudi Arabia’s future for decades to come.
Issued in 1932, the first budget of the young Kingdom stood at 14 million riyals.
Modest by today’s standards, it represented a crucial step toward institutionalizing financial management in a state that stretched from the Red Sea to the Arabian Gulf.
It also marked the beginning of a process that would eventually transform the Kingdom into one of the largest economies in the world.
Among the earliest acts of state-building was the creation of ministries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, established in 1930 and entrusted to Prince Faisal, was the first modern ministry in the Arabian Peninsula.
Later, the Ministry of Finance was formed, headed by Abdullah bin Suleiman Al-Hamdan, to manage revenues and expenditures.
These institutions provided the administrative backbone that would allow the country to navigate economic challenges and build foreign relations.
In 1933, King Abdulaziz signed the first concession agreement with Standard Oil of California, opening the way for oil exploration in the Kingdom.
After years of surveys and drilling, the breakthrough came in 1938, when Dammam Well No. 7 produced oil in commercial quantities.
A year later, in 1939, the King personally opened the valve at Ras Tanura to load the first shipment of Saudi crude onto a tanker, a defining moment in the country’s economic history.
Recognizing the need to connect his vast kingdom, King Abdulaziz oversaw the development of transport infrastructure.
The first railway linked Riyadh to Dammam, a project that laid the groundwork for modern land transport.
Airports, too, began to appear, with early airstrips facilitating communication and travel in a nation that had once relied on long caravan routes.
Education and healthcare were also priorities. The first schools established under King Abdulaziz signaled the beginning of a new era in literacy and learning.
Hospitals and clinics were built in Riyadh, Taif, and Jeddah, providing structured healthcare services where once only limited facilities had existed.
These institutions laid the foundation for the nationwide systems that would follow in later decades.
King Abdulaziz placed Saudi Arabia on the global stage. He established formal diplomatic ties, opened embassies, and hosted foreign envoys.
His presence at the 1945 founding of the United Nations marked the Kingdom’s first participation in international institutions, underscoring his vision of Saudi Arabia as both a regional leader and a global actor.
Each of these firsts — the budgets, ministries, concessions, and institutions — represented more than administrative acts.
They were milestones in the transformation of Saudi Arabia from a unified land into a modern state.
As the Kingdom celebrates its 95th National Day, the memory of these beginnings under King Abdulaziz endures.
They stand as reminders that the foundations of today’s thriving nation were laid in an era of resilience, vision, and historic firsts.
