Prince Mohammed received his bachelor’s degree in Law from King Saud University and held many positions during his professional career of 10 years.
He inaugurated his political career as a Consultant to the Experts Commission under the Saudi Cabinet and in 2009 was appointed Special Advisor to then Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, who at the time was Governor of Riyadh Province.
As Special Advisor, Prince Mohammed also served as Secretary-General of the Riyadh Competitive Council. He was also a Special Advisor to the Chairman of the Board for the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman then became Supervisor of Prince Salman, the Crown Prince’s Office.
In a March 2013 royal decree, he was appointed Head of the Crown Prince Court with the rank of Minister and Special Advisor to then Prince Salman.
Also on Wednesday, King Salman appointed his son and Defense Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as Deputy Crown Prince.
A royal decree read on state TV said Mohammed bin Salman will “be Deputy Crown Prince.”
He will keep his position as Minister of Defense and Head of the Economic and Development Council.
Hamad Al Swailem will replace Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the Head of the Saudi Royal Court, according to a separate royal decree carried by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
King Salman also replaced veteran Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, who had served in the role since March 1975, with the Kingdom's Ambassador in Washington Adel al-Jubeir, the first non-royal to hold the post.
The changes signaled a major shift at the top of the ruling Al Saud family away from Princes chosen by the late King Abdullah, who died in January, and towards those close to the new monarch.
The decree also appointed Saudi Aramco Chief Executive Khalid al-Falih as Health Minister and Chairman of Aramco and made Labor Minister Adel al-Fakeih Economy and Planning Minister, replacing him with Mufrej al-Haqbani.
Source: SPA; Reuters – Photo: AP
