Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud

Mohammad bin Salman
Mohammad bin Salman
Minister of Defense
In office	23 January 2015 – present
Predecessor	Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Monarch	Salman
Chief of the Royal Court
In office	23 January 2015 – present
Predecessor	Khaled al-Tuwaijri
Monarch	Salman
Head of the Crown Prince Court
In office	14 January 2013 – 23 January 2015
Predecessor	Saud bin Nayef
Monarch	Abdullah
Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
In office	29 April 2015 – present
Predecessor	Muhammad bin Nayef
Monarch	Salman
Born	31 August 1985
Spouse	Sara bint Mashoor bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Full name Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
House	House of Saud
Father	King Salman
Mother	Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan Al Hithalayn
Religion	Islam

Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud (Arabic: محمد بن سلمان بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎; born 31 August 1985 in Jeddah) is the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia, second deputy prime minister and the youngest minister of defense in the world.^[1] Mohammad is also chief of the House of Saud royal court, and chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs. He has been described as the power behind the throne of his father, King Salman.^[2]

Early life

Mohammad bin Salman was born on 31 August 1985 in Jeddah.^{[3][4][note 1]} He is the son of King Salman and his third spouse^[6] Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan Al Hithalayn.^[7] He is their eldest son^[6] and is full brother of Turki bin Salman, former chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group.^[7] Prince Mohammad holds a bachelor degree in law from King Saud University.^[8]

Career

After graduating college, Mohammad bin Salman spent several years in the private sector before becoming the personal aide of his father. He worked as a consultant for the Experts Commission, working for the Saudi Cabinet.^[9]

On 15 December 2009, Mohammad bin Salman entered politics as a special advisor to his father when the latter was the governor of Riyadh Province.^[10] At this time, the prince began to collect titles and sinecure positions such as secretary-general of the Riyadh Competitive Council, special advisor to the chairman of the board for the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, and a member of the board of trustees for Albir Society in the Riyadh region.^[11]

In October 2011, The Crown Prince, Sultan bin Abdulaziz, died, and the current King Salman began his ascent to power by becoming Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister in November 2011 and making Mohammad bin Salman his private advisor.^[12]

Mohammad bin Salman established himself as the chairman of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, otherwise known as MISK, whose aim is to help disadvantaged youth.^[13]

Chief of the Court

In June 2012, the Crown Prince, Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, died and Prince Mohammad moved up into the number two position in the hierarchy. He soon began remaking the court in his own image. On 2 March 2013, the chief of the Crown Prince court Prince Saud bin Nayef was appointed governor of the Eastern Province and Prince Mohammad succeeded him in the post. He was also given the rank of minister.^[14][15][16] On 25 April 2014 Prince Mohammad was appointed state minister.^[11]

Minister and Deputy Crown Prince

Prince Mohammad with United States Secretary of State John Kerry, 7 May 2015

Prince Mohammad with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 18 June 2015

United States Defense Secretary Ash Carter welcomes Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud to the Pentagon, 13 May 2015

On 23 January 2015, King Abdullah died, Salman took the throne and Prince Mohammad was appointed minister of defense.^[17] He was also named as the secretary general of the Royal Court on the same date.^[18] In addition he retained his post as the minister of the state.^[13][19]

On 29 January 2015 Prince Mohammad was named the chair of the newly established Council for Economic and Development Affairs,^[20] replacing the disbanded Supreme Economic Commission.^[20]

The first major event in his tenure as defense minister was Operation Decisive Storm, part of the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, an operation against Houthi rebels in Yemen, experiencing the 2015 Yemeni Civil War.^[21] According to the UN and human rights groups, direct war crimes were committed during the conflict.^[22][23][24]

In April 2015 King Salman appointed one of his nephews, Mohammed bin Nayef, as Crown Prince. At the same time King Salman appointed his son Prince Mohammed as deputy crown prince.

On 4 January 2016, Prince Mohammad gave his first on-the-record interview, while talking to The Economist.^[25]

On 10 January 2016, The Independent reported that "the BND, the German intelligence agency ... portrayed Saudi defence minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ... as a political gambler who is destabilising the Arab world through proxy wars in Yemen and Syria."^[26]

Notes

1. No official number exists, but a Saudi newspaper article quotes him in 2001 as a student from grade 10.^[5]

References

1. "Mohammed bin Nayef kingpin in new Saudi Arabia: country experts". Middle East Eye. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
2. Transcript: Interview with Muhammad bin Salman The Economist, 6 January 2016.
3. Council of Ministers: Membership
4. "قصة-السعودية-مع-الوزراء-الثلاثينيين". Al Arabiya. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
5. Al Jazirah
6. David D. Kirkpatrick (6 June 2015). "Surprising Saudi Rises as a Prince Among Princes". The New York Times (Riyadh). Retrieved 29 October 2015.
7. "Family Tree of Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud". Datarabia. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
8. "Council of Ministers: Membership". Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington DC. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
9. Profile of Prince Mohammed bin Salman - Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia Retrieved 30 March 2015
10. "HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz to inaugurate Cityscape Riyadh 2011". AMEinfo. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
11. "Chairman of the Board". MISK. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
12. "Prince Sultan arrives to Bahrain to attend Bahrain Grand Prix". Bahrain News Agency. 22 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
13. Profile: Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Al Arabiya. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015
14. "Leadership’s trust in me is my motivation – Muhammad". Saudi Gazette. 3 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
15. "Prince Mohammad appointed president of crown prince court". Saudi Business News. 2 March 2013. Retrieved 2 March 2013.
16. "Prince Mohammed bin Salman appointed Special Advisor to Crown Prince". Asharq Alawsat. 3 March 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
17. "Saudi King Abdullah passes away". Al Arabiya. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
18. "Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman named defense minister". Al Arabiya. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
19. Anthony H. Cordesman (24 January 2015). "Saudi Succession: The King Is Dead, Long Live the King". Newsweek. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
20. Simeon Kerr (30 January 2015). "Saudi king stamps his authority with staff shake-up and handouts". Financial Times (Riyadh). Retrieved 1 February 2015.
21. "Saudi and Arab allies bomb Houthi positions in Yemen". Al Jazeera. 26 March 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
22. "Yemen: Call for suspension of arms transfers to coalition and accountability for war crimes". Amnesty International. 7 October 2015.
23. MacAskill, Ewen (27 January 2016). "UN report into Saudi-led strikes in Yemen raises questions over UK role". The Guardian.
24. "Airstrikes hit Médecins Sans Frontières hospital in Yemen". The Guardian. 27 October 2015.
25. "Transcript: Interview with Muhammad bin Salman". The Economist. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
26. "Prince Mohammed bin Salman: Naive, arrogant Saudi prince is playing with fire". The Independent. 10 January 2016.