Saudi king dismisses crown prince, appoints son Mohammad Bin Salman

JEDDAH - Saudi Arabia's King Salman Bin Abdulaziz has dismissed the heir to the throne, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, and replaced him with Mohammad Bin Salman, a royal decree published by state news agency SPA reported.

Bin Salman, who has been Saudi defense minister and deputy crown prince, had been appreciated largely on his huge success regarding US President Donald Trump stay in the kingdom during his first world tour.

The thirty-one year old prince has taken a key role in Saudi Arabia's struggle to build its economy beyond the oil industry. He holds primary responsibility for the kingdom's military and energy sector.

The Saudi Press Agency confirmed that 31 out of 34 members of Saudi Arabia's Allegiance Council selected Mohammed bin Salman as new crown prince.

Earlier, in 2015, King Salman relieved Moqren bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud as crown prince and replaced him with then Interior Minister Mohammed bin Naif.

Allegiance

In a video of Al Arabiya news, the former crown prince can be seen pledging allegiance to the newly-appointed Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al-Safa Palace Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has asked citizens of Saudi Arabia to pledge allegiance to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al-Safa Palace in Makkah after Wednesday night’s Taraweeh prayers.

More Appointments

According to royal decree, Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Prince Abdulrahman Al-Rabian, Prince Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, Prince Abdullah bin Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, Abdul Rahman Al Rabian and Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Sudairi have been appointed as advisors to the Royal Court.

The king also appointed Prince Faisal bin Sattam bin Abdul Aziz as the Kingdom's Ambassador to the Italian Republic and Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz as ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Prince Abdul Aziz bin Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul Aziz was given post of deputy chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Sport, while Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahad bin Turki bin Abdul Aziz will be Deputy Governor of Al-Jouf region.

Prince Bandar bin Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz will hold seat of Assistant Head of General Intelligence, besides becoming an advisor to the Royal Court.

Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdul Aziz was appointed as Advisor to the Royal Court with the rank of Minister.