The Emirates of Provinces in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are government entities responsible for representing the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the thirteen provinces of the Kingdom. They are organizationally affiliated with the Ministry of Interior, and adopt the ministry's visual identity as their logo.
The Law of Provinces
According to the Law of Provinces issued in 1992 and amended by a royal decree in 1994, each emirate consists of several governorates, divided into two categories: (A) and (B), in addition to several centers. This division took into consideration the residential, geographical, and security conditions, transportation routes, environmental conditions, and the historical status of each governorate.
Appointments in emirates of the provinces
A governor for each emirate is appointed by royal order at the rank of minister. The Law of Provinces unified administrative functions, units, and designations, and defined the hierarchy of officials across emirates, governorates, and centers, along with their respective powers, as follows: The deputy governor of the province in an excellent rank, undersecretary of the emirate in the fourteenth rank or higher, mayor (A) in the fourteenth rank, deputy mayor (A) and mayor (B) in the twelfth rank, head of center (A) in the eighth rank, and head of center (B) in the fifth rank.
Main functions of emirates of the provinces
The main tasks of the emirate of the province encompass: maintaining security, overseeing the delivery of justice within the province, ensuring the efficacy and efficiency of services provided to the province's inhabitants, working to enhance and develop services, looking into the concerns of inhabitants, receiving their complaints, resolving their issues, and coordinating and collaborating with government entities during planning and execution stages. Hereinafter is a brief definition of the emirates of the thirteen provinces:
- Emirate of Riyadh Province: It operates from its headquarters in Riyadh City, and oversees twenty-two governorates. It is the Kingdom's largest province in the number of affiliated governorates. The first to serve as the governor of the province was Prince Nasser Bin Abdulaziz, from 1937 to 1946. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, was the longest-serving governor of Riyadh, at fifty-six years, nearly fifty of which were continuous.
- Emirate of Makkah Province: It is headquartered in Makkah al-Mukarramah city, on Prince Majid Bin Abdulaziz Road, in al-Ma'abdah neighborhood. It has a branch in Jeddah Governorate on al-Madinah al-Munawwarah Road. The province comes second after Riyadh Province in terms of the number of governorates supervised, with a total of sixteen governorates, which is equivalent to the number of affiliated governorates in the Emirate of Jazan Province.
- Emirate of Eastern Province: It operates from its headquarters in Dammam City on King Abdulaziz Road. It has eleven affiliated Category (A) and (B) governorates, which together include around 109 centers.
- Emirate of al-Madinah Province: It operates from its headquarters on Umar Bin al-Khattab Road in al-Madinah al-Munawwarah. It has eight affiliated Category (A) and (B) governorates, which together include around ninety-six centers.
- Emirate of Northern Borders Province: It is the province with the fewest affiliated governorates in the Kingdom, comprising just three governorates, similar to the Emirate of Al-Jouf Province. It operates from its headquarters in the city of Arar, situated on King Abdulaziz Road.
- Emirate of al-Qassim Province: It operates from its headquarters on King Abdulaziz Road, al-Muntazah neighborhood, in Buraydah City. It has twelve affiliated Category (A) and (B) governorates, with a combined total of around 154 centers.
- Emirate of Tabuk Province: Its headquarters is located in Tabuk City, specifically on King Abdullah Road. It has six affiliated Category (A) and (B) governorates, which together include about eighty-three centers.
- Emirate of al-Jouf Province: It operates from its headquarters in al-Rabwa neighborhood in Sakaka City. It has the fewest affiliated governorates in the Kingdom, comprising just three governorates, similar to the Emirate of Northern Borders Province.
- Emirate of al-Bahah Province: It operates from its headquarters in al-Bahah City, located on King Fahd Road. It has nine affiliated Category (A) and (B) governorates. Together, they include around forty-two centers.
- Emirate of Aseer Province: It operates from its headquarters in Abha City on Imam Mohammed Bin Saud Road. It has fifteen affiliated Category (A) and (B) governorates, which together include around 129 centers.
- Emirate of Jazan Province: It ranks second after Riyadh in terms of the number of governorates supervised, with a total of sixteen governorates, which is equivalent to the number of governorates affiliated with the Emirate of Makkah Province. It operates from its headquarters in Jazan City on Ibn al-Haytham Road in al-Shati neighborhood.
- Emirate of Najran Province: It has six affiliated Category (A) and (B) governorates, together including around sixty-five centers. It operates from its headquarters Najran City on King Abdulaziz Road.
- Emirate of Hail Province: It operates from its headquarters in Hail City on Prince Meqrin Bin Abdulaziz Road. It has eight affiliated Category (A) and (B) governorates, together including around 109 centers.
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