Prince Sultan bin Salman at the conference in Colombia.

Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH), has been elected as the World Tourism Organization’s (WTO) vice president.

The decision was taken on Sunday by the Middle East committee of the organization in Medellin, Colombia. The meeting re-elected Saudi Arabia as a member of the WTO’s executive board for the Middle East.

Prince Sultan was present to attend the 21st session of the WTO’s general assembly meeting, which took place on Sunday and Monday.

Prince Sultan was born in Riyadh on June 27, 1956. He is the second son of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, according to information posted on the website www.sultanbinsalman.sa.

He earned a master’s degree in social and political science from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in the United States in 1999.

“On June 17, 1985, Prince Sultan was chosen to represent Arab Sat — the Arab world’s satellite agency, as a crew member of the Space Shuttle Discovery, working as a Payload Specialist on its Mission STS 51G. He was the first Arab, first Muslim, and first member of royalty in space. Shortly afterwards, he joined the Royal Saudi Air Force as a fighter pilot, from which he retired in 1996 with the rank of colonel,” the report stated.

He is an avid pilot with more than 7,000 flight hours since 1976, and holds airline transport pilot certificates from the United States, Saudi Arabia and France, with qualifications to fly several types of jets, helicopters and gliders. He is also a qualified desert and mountain pilot, the report stated.

He has been the president and board chairman of the SCTNH since 2008. The commission was established in 2000, with Prince Sultan as the secretary general until 2008.

Prince Sultan is active in many charitable and humanitarian organizations. He enjoys skiing, flying, photography, architecture, reading and travel.