Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince of Saudi Arabia and de facto ruler of the kingdom, has been named prime minister, said a decree by King Salman, his father, published by the official Spa news agency on Tuesday (September 27th).  

In Saudi Arabia, this post is traditionally held by the king, who is head of state and chairman of the Council of Ministers.

Mohammed bin Salman was previously deputy prime minister under his father, King Salman, as well as defense minister.

He is replaced as defense minister by his younger brother, Khaled bin Salman, who was previously deputy defense minister, according to the same source.

The Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs and Energy were not affected by the government reshuffle, according to the royal decree.

Prince Mohammed, who turned 37 last month, is in the front line to succeed his father.

In recent years there have been growing rumors about the health of the 86-year-old King, who has been hospitalized twice this year, most recently in May, according to news reports.

Return to favor thanks to Ukraine

Mohammed bin Salman has shaken up a sluggish Saudi Arabia with all-out reforms while brutally repressing the opposition, but he remains an essential interlocutor internationally.

Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February, the Saudi kingdom - and the crown prince in particular - sought to overcome the diplomatic isolation imposed by most Western countries after the 2018 assassination of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at his country's consulate in Istanbul.

After his election, US President Joe Biden even declassified a report concluding that "MBS" had "validated" the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of power, which the Saudi authorities have always denied.

But since the Russian invasion and soaring energy prices, Joe Biden, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other Western leaders have visited the kingdom, one of the world's leading exporters of oil in the world, to try to convince Riyadh to pump more crude.

With AFP

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