Reema bint Bandar Al Saud

Family and Washington upbringing

Reema was born in Riyadh in 1975, the daughter of Bandar bin Sultan and Haifa bint Faisal. She spent much of her upbringing in Washington while her father was Saudi ambassador to the United States. The family connection provides context for her familiarity with the country, but her own ambassadorial appointment came decades later through a separate public decision.

University and private-sector work

She studied museum-related arts at George Washington University and subsequently worked in Saudi Arabia’s private sector. From 2007 to 2015 she headed Alfa International, associated with Harvey Nichols in Riyadh. Her work involved retail management and women’s employment. This business period is distinct from diplomatic service and from a royal title held through birth.

Social enterprise and health advocacy

Reema co-founded the Zahra Breast Cancer Association in 2007 and established the social enterprise Alf Khair in 2013. These institutions address different needs: health awareness and professional capacity. Their work involves staff and partners, so the biography records her founding connection without suggesting that an ambassador personally provides clinical treatment or that an organizational launch proves a particular social outcome.

Sport and public administration

In 2016 she entered public sports administration with responsibility for women’s affairs. She later held development-and-planning responsibilities and led a mass-participation sports federation. These appointments placed her within institutions concerned with participation and policy. Her later Olympic involvement belongs to that broader sporting record rather than constituting the same office as her diplomatic appointment.

Ambassador from 2019

She was appointed ambassador to the United States on 23 February 2019 and presented her credentials in July. The Saudi embassy identifies her as the first Saudi woman appointed ambassador. The role concerns official state representation and bilateral relations; it should not be described as a crown-prince position or an automatic consequence of having an ambassador as a parent.

A royal biography beyond succession

Reema’s profile extends the Al Saud coverage beyond the king and his sons. Her path connects education, business, social institutions, sport and diplomacy. A chronological account shows how those roles developed without reducing the biography to rankings of influence or unverified personal wealth. Current diplomatic responsibilities are checked against the embassy’s own published record.

Selected works & milestones