The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the presumptive heir to the kingdom is Mohammed bin Salman. Besides being the First Deputy Prime Minister, he is also the President of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs and the Minister of Defense. He is frequently referred to as the real force behind King Salman’s reign because it was he who named him Crown Prince by expelling Muhammad bin Nayef from all ranks. He is best known for leading a massive reform effort that reduced the authority of the religious police, lifted the prohibition on women driving, and formed an entertainment authority that opened the door for the first female vocalist to perform in public in Saudi Arabia. Although he has taken action against corruption, his political detractors claim that his efforts are actually a covert power grab meant to oust his political adversaries. It’s interesting to note that he has condemned himself for his extravagant lifestyle and human rights abuses.
Early Childhood & Life
On August 31, 1985, in Riyadh, Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was born to the reigning King Salman and his third wife, Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan bin Hathleen. Rakan bin Hithalayn, the chief of the Al Ajman tribe, left behind his mother, who is Rakan’s granddaughter.
He finished his primary education in Riyadh and was named one of the top ten students in the entire nation. After that, he earned a law degree from King Saud University and placed second in his class.
Electoral Life of Mohammed bin Salman
Prince Mohammed bin Salman founded a number of businesses in the private sector upon graduation before joining the government as his father’s personal assistant. He served as a consultant for the Experts Commission for the Saudi Cabinet.
When he started working as a full-time advisor to the Council of Ministers in 2007, he started his political career. He joined his father’s team as a special advisor to the governor of Riyadh Province on December 15, 2009.
He quickly advanced through the ranks during this time and remained a part-time consultant for the Experts Commission until 2013. He served as the chairman’s special advisor for the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, the secretary-general of the Riyadh Competitive Council, and a member of the Albir Society’s board of trustees.
In October 2011, a month after the passing of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, his father started his rise to power by taking the positions of second deputy prime minister and defense minister. Salman became his personal counselor at this point.
After Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud passed away in June 2012, his father rose to the No. 2 position in the hierarchy by becoming the new crown prince and first deputy prime minister.
Prince Saud bin Nayef, who had previously held the job, was named governor of the Eastern Province on March 2nd, 2013, and Mohammed bin Salman was chosen to take his place.
On April 25, 2014, he was sworn in as a state minister and admitted to the council of ministers. King Salman succeeded his father, King Abdullah, who had died, and Mohammed bin Salman had been nominated Secretary General of the Royal Court and Minister of Defense respectively.
As the opposition Houthis took over northern Yemen in late 2014 and shortly after President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his government resigned, he was immediately confronted with escalating political upheaval. His first move was to establish a naval blockade and organize a pan-GCC coalition to launch airstrikes in response to the Houthis’ string of suicide bombings in Sanaa.
He was crucial in March 2015 when Saudi Arabia led a group of nations to defeat the Houthi rebels and put President Hadi back in the office. Additionally, he kept a tight rein on security service coordination and oversaw operations from the Maldives.
On January 29, 2015, he was appointed to lead the Supreme Economic Commission’s replacement, the Council for Economic and Development Affairs. He refuted the label of “architect of the war in Yemen” in an interview after being referred to as such by “The Economist,” going on to describe the institutions’ decision-making process.
Muhammad bin Nayef and Prince Mohammed bin Salman were appointed as the Crown Prince and Deputy Crown Prince, respectively, in April 2015 by the royal proclamation of King Salman, who also placed him in charge of Saudi Aramco.
He assumed the roles of Crown Prince and heir apparent to the throne on June 21, 2017, when his father opted to remove Muhammad bin Nayef.
Significant Political and Economic Changes
In April 2016, Prince Mohammed bin Salman declared his ambition to reform the Saudi economy and unveiled Vision 2030, the nation’s 15-year strategic plan. It describes the different steps that must be followed to create non-oil earnings, from the privatization of the economy to e-government and sustainable development.
By limiting the authority of the religious police, he effectively broke with tradition. He also founded the Entertainment Authority, which has held pro wrestling matches, comedy shows, and monster truck rallies. He has also declared plans to issue “Green Cards” to non-Saudi foreign nationals and a scheme to develop Al Qidiya, a 334-square-kilometer city that will rank among the largest cities in the world for culture, sports, and entertainment.
He arranged the arrest of nearly 40 princes and government ministers, including Saudi royal and billionaire Al-Waleed bin Talal, for corruption and money laundering after publicly announcing a crackdown on corruption in May 2017. While others viewed it as a move in the right direction, the purge was branded as a power grab attempt by the international media, who noted that it was unclear what “those imprisoned are suspected of.”
Due to his cultural changes, Saudi Arabia hosted its first-ever public female vocalist concert in December 2017, and as a result, Jeddah’s sports stadium became the nation’s first to allow women admission. After a 35-year prohibition, public theatres in Saudi Arabia were set to reopen in the early months of 2018.
He is also acknowledged for having influenced the September 2017 lifting of the prohibition on female drivers. He added that Saudi Arabia is returning to its origins of moderate Islam by condemning the orthodox beliefs that were suffocating the kingdom.
Personal Legacy & Life
In 2008, Prince Mohammed bin Salman wed Princess Sara bint Mashoor bin Abdulaziz, a distant relative. Together, they have four children: two girls, Princess Fahda and Princess Nora, and two boys, Prince Salman and Prince Mashhour.
The Prince Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, often known as MiSK, is led by Prince Mohammed bin Salman and aims to support the objectives of Vision 2030 by empowering the next generation.
Mohammed bin Salman’s Net Worth
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince is Mohammed bin Salman. Mohammed bin Salman is $5 billion in wealth. He is regarded as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler and is King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s eighth child. He has held positions as Saudi Arabia’s deputy prime minister and defense minister and goes by the moniker “MBS.”
Trivia
Prince Mohammed bin Salman has come under fire for buying a French château and a superyacht, despite the fact that he is overseeing a massive crackdown on corruption and self-enrichment by the Saudi elite. For €500 million, he acquired the Italian-built, Bermuda-registered yacht “Serene” from Russian vodka magnate Yuri Shefler in 2015.