ABSTRACT
Before the beginning of oil exports, Saudi Arabia clearly came close to the minimal state model. This did not stem from a philosophy of economic liberalism, but from the practical reality of resource poverty. There was simply no money for the state to play a more active role, or even to create the administrative organisations necessary to support such a role. Governmental structures were very light and basic. Up to 1952 the only ministries in existence were those of Finance (founded in 1932), Foreign Affairs (1933) and the Interior (1944).
