Saudi King Salman yesterday appointed a new heir and made his young son second-in-line to rule, a major shift in power within the ultra-conservative kingdom’s elite at a time of almost unprecedented regional turmoil.
By making Saudi Minister of Interior Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, crown prince and Minster of Defense Mohammed bin Salman, 30, deputy crown prince, King Salman has effectively decided the line of succession for decades to come in the world’s top oil exporter.
Almost all powers under the king are now concentrated in the hands of the pair, who each chair committees determining all security and economic development issues in Saudi Arabia, and have led Riyadh’s month-old campaign of air strikes in Yemen.
Photo: AFP / Saudi Press Agency / Handout
In another big shift, Salman replaced veteran Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud al-Faisal, who had served in the role since October 1975, with the Ambassador to the US Adel al-Jubeir, the first non-royal to hold the post.
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who replaces Prince Muqrin, the successor chosen by the late King Abdullah before his death in January, enjoys closer personal ties with US officials than almost any other senior royal, diplomats have said.
The changes come as Saudi Arabia navigates the messy aftermath of the Arab spring and has departed from decades of backroom politics with its military intervention in Yemen.
The Yemen move, closely associated with both prince Mohammeds, is seen by analysts as reflecting a more assertive approach to Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy under Salman and his ruling team.
“I think we’re going to see a more confrontational policy, faster decisionmaking and more long-term thinking. A leadership that won’t hesitate from any confrontation,” said Mustafa Alani, an Iraqi security analyst with close ties to the kingdom’s interior ministry.
The reshuffle also touched the oil sector. The chief executive of state oil firm Aramco, Khalid al-Falih, was appointed minister of health, according to the text of the decree published on the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Saudi-owned al-Arabiya television also reported he had been named chairman of state oil company, Saudi Aramco, a position hitherto held by veteran Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali al-Naimi, who remained in his ministerial post.
While Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is a familiar figure both inside the kingdom and in the West for his role in quashing an al-Qaeda uprising and leading Saudi policy in Syria, his successor as second in line to the throne, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is comparatively unknown.
Until four months and six days ago, the young prince had only served as head of his father’s court, was a virtual stranger to the Saudi public and had had relatively little contact with the kingdom’s foreign partners.
Since then he has become, as defense minister, the face of Saudi Arabia’s newly launched war in Yemen, with his bearded face rarely off television screens or street billboards, and is now established as a central figure.
The replacement of Prince Muqrin, Salman’s youngest half-brother, as crown prince means that Salman will be the last of the sons of Saudi Arabia’s founder, King Abdulaziz al-Saud, to rule.
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