Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Appointed As Prime Minister, Prince Khalid Jabat Minister Of Defense

JAKARTA - Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz appointed his son and heir to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as prime minister of the kingdom, while his second son Prince Khalid served as defense minister, in a royal decree announced Tuesday.

Citing Reuters from the SPA Wednesday, September 28, a number of other positions did not change in the decree.

The Minister of Energy remains Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. Likewise with Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Finance Mohammed al-Jadaan and Minister of Investment Khalid al-Falih remain in their position.

The Crown Prince was promoted from the defense minister and has become the ruler of Saudi Arabia's de facto, a major US ally in the Middle East.

His new role as prime minister was in line with the delegation of earlier king duties to him, including representing the kingdom on overseas visits and leading a summit hosted by the kingdom, a Saudi official said.

"The crown prince's HRH, based on the king's order, has been overseeing the country's main executive body every day, and his new role as prime minister is in that context," said an official who declined to be named.

Historically, the delegation of such tasks has taken place in the kingdom several times, the official said.

Prince Khalid bin Salman, MBS's younger brother, previously served as deputy defense minister.

The crown prince said the kingdom had raised its self-employment in the military industry to 15 percent from 2 percent and plans to reach 50 percent below its newly appointed defense minister, according to an SPA report.

According to the decree, King Salman will still chair the cabinet meeting he attended. After the decree was made, state TV broadcast the king chairing a weekly cabinet meeting.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has changed Saudi Arabia since rising to power in 2017, leading efforts to diversify the economy from his dependence on oil, allowing women to drive and limit the power of ulama.

His reforms were followed by firm action against dissent, with activists, nobles, women's rights activists and businessmen.