RIYADH // Saudi King Salman removed his nephew as crown prince on Wednesday and installed his son Mohammed bin Salman — the first of a new generation set for power.
His appointment completes a gradual removal of powers from Mohammed bin Nayef, 57, who has been fired, with his rise symbolising the hopes of Saudi’s youthful population, more than half of which is under 25.
According to a royal decree issued by the official Saudi Press Agency, Mohammed bin Salman, 31, was also named deputy prime minister, and maintains his post as minister of defence.
Mohammed bin Nayef, for years the kingdom’s counterterrorism chief who put down an Al Qaeda campaign of bombings betweem 2003 and 2006, is a relieved of all positions, it said. The hard-charging Mohammed bin Salman’s public profile rapidly eclipsed that of the crown prince.
King Salman had already set a precedent for removal of a crown prince when, in April 2015, he appointed Mohammed bin Nayef and fired Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud, who had assumed the post under the late King Abdullah.
The move left Mohammed bin Nayef as the first of the second generation, or grandsons of the kingdom’s founder, Abdul Aziz bin Saud, in line to lead the kingdom. With Mohammed bin Salman now next in line for the throne, an even younger generation is set for power.
Al Arabiya television reported that the promotion of the prince was approved by the kingdom’s Allegiance Council, and that the king had called for a public pledging of loyalty to Mohammed bin Salman on Wednesday evening in Mecca. Footage showed the outgoing Mohammed bin Nayef embracing his successor and as he pledeged pledged allegiance to the kingdom’s new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi state television reported on Wednesday.
As deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman took on an unusual amount of responsibility, most prominently as the main proponent of a wide-ranging plan, Vision 2030, to bring social and economic change to the oil-dependent economy. He also chaired the Council of Economic and Development Affairs which coordinates economic policy, and oversaw a body overseeing state oil giant Saudi Aramco.
As defence minister he holds overall responsibility for the kingdom’s military intervention in Yemen. Saudi Arabia leads a coalition supporting the internationally-recognised Yemeni government against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
