Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the kingdom’s prime minister.
Prince Mohammed, who turned 37 last month, has been first in line to succeed his ailing father as king since 2017. The king on Tuesday issued a decree ordering a cabinet reshuffle, appointing Saudi Prince Khalid bin Salman as the minister of defense. Heads of ministries that were kept unchanged include the minister of energy, the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of investment, the minister of interior, and other roles.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, who has been first in line to succeed his father as king since 2017, was named prime minister in a post traditionally held by the king, in a government shuffle announced Tuesday.
Prince Mohammed, who has already been the kingdom’s de facto ruler for several years, previously served as deputy prime minister under King Salman as well as defense minister.
He is being replaced as defense minister by his younger brother, Khalid bin Salman, who was deputy defense minister.
The heads of other critical ministries, including interior, foreign, and energy, remained in place, according to a royal decree from King Salman published by the official Saudi Press Agency.
Saudi Arabia has for years sought to quash speculation over the health of the 86-year-old king, who has ruled the world’s top oil exporter since 2015.
In 2017, it dismissed reports and rising belief that the king was planning to abdicate in favor of Prince Mohammed. King Salman has been hospitalized twice this year, most recently for a one-week stay in May that involved tests including a colonoscopy, according to state media.
Prince Mohammed became defense minister in 2015, a key step in his swift consolidation of power.
In that position, he has overseen Saudi Arabia’s military activities in Yemen, where the kingdom leads a coalition backing the internationally recognized government in its fight against the Houthi rebels aligned with Iran.
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia is the second most important position in Saudi Arabia, second to the King, and is his designated successor. Currently, the Crown Prince assumes power with the approval of the Allegiance Council after he is nominated by the King