The founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, king Abdul Aziz bin Abdurrahman Al-Saud (may Allah bestow mercy on him) had used the intelligence work in his historical wars to unify the country. He would not take a single military step without informing himself, through the scouts he sent out to the vicinity of the enemy, of the political and military situation of the other side, in order to put in place the appropriate plan to achieve victory.
At the dictates of his natural instincts and acumen, he realized the importance of getting timely information, and used it to enhance the security and stability of the burgeoning Kingdom. Accordingly, his interest in modern communication increasingly grew until he set up the first radio communications system throughout the land, something which would have a prominent role in transferring information and news, to and from him. It had also played an effective role in determining many historical events that took place in the Kingdom.
As the political, international, regional, and local conditions improved, and in response to the needs of the period, as well as in recognition of the importance of the political, religious, and economical stage the Kingdom was witnessing, there appeared a need for setting up an apparatus that could provide information for the decision maker, participate alongside other security services in preserving the integrity of the state and its essential elements, and guarantee a high level of prosperity for the state and the citizen, while preserving all its gains in all fields. Hence the Kingdom thought of setting up an intelligence service, and began this with the opening of an office for intelligence in the year 1376 Hijra, corresponding to 1955, under the name of “Al-Mabahith Al-Aammah” or (General Investigations).
During the reign of King Saud bin Abdul Aziz, the General Intelligence was separated from the General Directorate of Mabaahith (Investigations). Intelligence was established officially as an independent security service with the issuing of the Royal decree number 11 in 1377 Hijra that ordered the setting up of a special department under the title of Maslahat Al-Istikhbarat Al-Aammah or (The General Intelligence Department). During this period two branches of the Presidency were set up locally, the western branch in Jeddah, and eastern one in Dhahran.
During the reign of king Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz, , the Presidency witnessed great developments; namely, the opening of offices abroad in some countries of interest, and the setting up of a number of local branches to cover all the areas of the Kingdom, besides the expansion of the activities and missions the Presidency carried out.
During the reign of king Khaled Bin Abdul Aziz, the Presidency witnessed the issuing of its basic law by Royal decree number m-5, dated 4-3-1403 Hijra (December 19, 1982)(19) which had set out its responsibilities, duties, and limits of activities. Also, many departments affiliated with the Presidency were set up and organized such as the General Department for Operations, the General Department for Administrative and Financial affairs, the General Department for Training and Planning, and the General Department for Technical Affairs. Set up as well were the National Research Center, and the Center for Media and International Communications (previously Center for Translation and Media). These developments came in response to the ever increasing needs of the Presidency and the expansion of its activities.
In 1418 Hijra, the Office for External Communications was annexed to the Presidency after it had been part of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. Its name was also changed to the General Department for External Communications, and it was strengthened with the addition of high-tech equipment and intelligence specialists in radio surveillance, quite an advanced method for collecting intelligence.
The period saw the expansion of the activities of the Presidency abroad with the establishment and development of more offices in Arab, African, Asian, and European countries, and through more effort to organize its work in line with what the general interests of the state dictated.
The Presidency’s internal branches saw development during this phase as well with the restructuring and reorganizing of its offices and bolstering of them with new expertise and qualified personnel.
During the reign of king Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, a period may be called the phase of administrative development, a specialized committees for administrative development were set up. The Higher Committee for Development was set up and was chaired by the President of the General Intelligence; its membership consisted of the heads of the various departments of the Presidency. And during the tenure of His Royal Highness, the administrative structuring of the Information Center was approved.
During the reign of the Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques, King Abdulla Bin Abdul Aziz, The GIP has gone through many stages of development and renewals that coincided with the needs and the nature of the circumstances of each stage. With the issuance of this Royal Order, the GIP is now braced for another period of development and rejuvenation that reflects the new ambitions of the Saudi government in its pursuit of implementing modern information technology in all domains of government. To realize these ambitions, His Royal Highness Prince Mugrin bin Abdulaziz directed, since his first day of assuming the leadership of the Presidency, for increasing the share of modern information technology in intelligence work. He has also implemented a comprehensive program of enrolling all GIP personnel in advanced training courses in computer science so that they become well educated on and informed of its uses. This is the first step for the Presidency to be one of the first government agencies to become fully “electronic”. Contracts with private institutions have already been signed to train all personnel and qualify them for the international “driver’s license” ICDL in computer uses and applications.
Since assuming his office, His Royal Highness has been preoccupied with the project of developing, restructuring, and drawing the Presidency’s strategy. To this end, he has issued instructions for the studying of this new strategy to ensure its success and to maximize its benefits. Many committees have been formed for this task, and the expertise of other sectors in the Kingdom such as the security authorities, administrative and academic circles, has been called upon. Many of those involved in the strategy have been sent abroad to Arab, Islamic, and friendly countries in order to witness, first hand, the experience these countries enjoy in this field. Obviously, the new administrative structure of the Presidency has materialized in its orientation towards more organization and more specialization, in a way that guarantees the contribution of all in serving information, and enjoys the maximum benefit of all the capabilities and personnel available at the General Intelligence Presidency. Such a state fulfills the wishes of His Royal Highness the President of the General Intelligence for disciplined commitment to high professionalism at work, bringing to life the GIP’s motto: “effectiveness, competence, professionalism.”
Again, the interests of His Royal Highness have not been limited to the internal issues. Believing that intelligence work is a comprehensive coordinated effort which cannot do without the joint contribution of all internal and external parties, he has devoted his efforts to increasing the offices abroad in countries of interest and to widening cooperative horizons with other intelligence services in Arab, Islamic, and friendly countries. Therefore, the Presidency has succeeded in signing bilateral and multi-literal cooperation agreements with a number of countries and institutions inside and outside the Kingdom. It has also held, and is still holding, a number of conferences and meetings at the level of neighboring and friendly countries to exchange opinions and expertise.
