Editing Politics of Saudi Arabia (section)

===Reform===
Since the [[9/11]] attacks in 2001, there has been mounting pressure to reform and modernize the royal family's rule, an agenda championed by King Abdullah both before and after his accession in 2005. The creation of the Consultative Council in the early 1990s did not satisfy demands for political participation, and, in 2003, an annual ''National Dialogue Forum'' was announced that would allow selected professionals and intellectuals to publicly debate current national issues, within certain prescribed parameters. In 2005, the first municipal elections were held. In 2007, the [[Allegiance Council]] was created to regulate the succession.<ref name= Al-Rasheed242>{{cite book|title=A History of Saudi Arabia|last=Al Rasheed |first=M. |author-link=Madawi al-Rasheed|year=2010|isbn=978-0521747547|pages=180, 242–243, 248, 257–258}}</ref> In 2009, the king made significant personnel changes to the government by appointing reformers to key positions and the first woman to a ministerial post.<ref>{{cite news |title=Saudi king speeds reforms|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31b61bc4-fb3a-11dd-bcad-000077b07658.html#axzz1Q0pylGRj |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31b61bc4-fb3a-11dd-bcad-000077b07658.html#axzz1Q0pylGRj |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Financial Times|date=15 February 2009|access-date=22 June 2011}};{{cite news |title=Prince Naif appointed deputy Saudi PM|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c0d7fcc-1b1b-11de-8aa3-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz1Q0pylGRj |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2c0d7fcc-1b1b-11de-8aa3-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz1Q0pylGRj |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|newspaper=The Financial Times|date=27 March 2009|access-date=22 June 2011}}</ref> However, the changes have been criticized as being too slow or merely cosmetic,<ref>{{cite news|title=Reform in Saudi Arabia: At a snail's pace|url=http://www.economist.com/node/17149062?story_id=17149062&fsrc=rss|newspaper=The Economist|date=30 September 2010|access-date=22 June 2011|archive-date=14 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014041446/http://www.economist.com/node/17149062?story_id=17149062&fsrc=rss|url-status=live}}</ref> and the royal family is reportedly divided on the speed and direction of reform.<ref name=Kostiner236>{{cite book|title=Conflict and cooperation in the Gulf region|url=https://archive.org/details/conflictcooperat00kost|url-access=limited|last=Kostiner |first=Joseph|year=2009|isbn=978-3531162058|page=[https://archive.org/details/conflictcooperat00kost/page/n233 236]}}</ref>

In 2011, Abdullah announced that women will be able to be nominated to the [[Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia|Shura Council]].<ref name="oman_observer_electionday">{{cite news |title=Saudis vote in municipal elections, results on Sunday |date=30 September 2011 |work=[[Oman Observer]] |agency=[[Agence France-Presse]] |url=http://main.omanobserver.om/node/66706 |access-date=14 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119050656/http://main.omanobserver.om/node/66706 |archive-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>