The favoured son of the Saudi monarch
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, whose image has been tarnished by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, gained popularity after shaking up the ultraconservative kingdom with reforms. But many now see his crackdown on dissent as verging on authoritarianism.
Known by his initials MBS, the young, charismatic heir-apparent to the Gulf region’s most powerful throne has overseen the most fundamental transformation in the modern history of the oil-rich nation and sidelined all rivals after emerging as first in line in June 2017.
US President Donald Trump quickly saw the prince as a vital pillar of the American strategy of containing Iran — long a Saudi foe — while trying to bring Israel and Saudi Arabia closer together in the search for a Middle East peace plan.
Still only 33, Prince Mohammad has pledged to usher in a “moderate” Saudi Arabia as he seeks to win over international investors for his grandiose vision to overhaul the kingdom’s oil-reliant economy.
He has also taken on the powerful clerics who long dominated Saudi life and struck out at the nation’s coddled elite with a dramatic purge in September last year of royals, ministers and business figures that saw hundreds detained in a probe over graft involving $100bn (about R1.5-trillion).
But Riyadh’s admission that prominent critic Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 has jeopardised the prince’s carefully cultivated reformist image.
This time last year, MBS was on top of the world.
Onstage at the first “Davos in the Desert” investment summit in Riyadh, he was happily discussing his plans for a R7.2trillion new Saudi mega city.
Western politicians and business leaders flocked to hear the young prince describe his vision of a reformed Saudi economy and a gentler society, freed from the grip of hardline clerics.
This week, the same global elites who raced to Riyadh last year were nowhere to be seen.
The fall from international favour may be a sign that the heir to the throne, who went rapidly from an unknown royal to one of the Middle East’s most powerful men, has finally gone too far.
Born on August 31 1985, MBS is a favourite among the king’s 13 children. He has a law degree from King Saud University and was appointed defence minister at 29 but his authority has spread to all corners of Saudi government, earning him the nickname “Mr Everything”.
Last year his 82-year-old father, who is declining mentally, handed him broad powers over the economy and foreign policy. Since then, MBS has moved with unbridled aggression at home and abroad.
He pushed through some social reforms, such as reopening cinemas and allowing women to drive, but has done little to ease guardianship laws which severely restrict the rights of female Saudi citizens.
He announced an “anti-corruption” drive which saw police arrest many fellow princes and some leading businessmen. The move was widely seen as an effort to consolidate power and crush rivals.
It also left him open to accusations of hypocrisy given his own rumoured lavish spending.
Saudi Arabia has continued its bombing campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen. Human rights groups criticised the kingdom for the level of civilian casualties and for a devastating blockade that has fuelled famine.
Through all of this, the prince has retained the support of Donald Trump and kept a close relationship with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. His ties to the White House have insulated him from international opponents.
A key question of the Khashoggi crisis is whether the White House will rethink the trust it has put in a man it sees as a dynamic reformer, a reliable opponent of Iran, and a potential linchpin of a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.
He has also unleashed a harsh crackdown on political dissent, earning sharp criticism from nongovernmental organisations.
In September 2017, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International reported the arrest of dozens of writers, journalists, activists and religious leaders, including prominent Islamist cleric Sheikh Salman al-Awda.
It was around this time that Khashoggi left the kingdom for self-imposed exile in the US.
Old-fashioned tribal leader
The crown prince was also heavily criticised for placing Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri under house arrest in Riyadh in November.
“Deep inside him, he is an old-fashioned tribal leader,” Khashoggi told Newsweek earlier this year in an off-the-record conversation, only released after the reports of his killing had been confirmed.
The prince has pushed to curb the power of hardline clerics and prominent sheikhs who promote the kingdom’s uncompromising version of Islam, recognising that his country’s association with Wahhabism is a problem.
And he has also beefed up the kingdom’s foreign policy, raising alarm with a ruinous conflict in neighbouring Yemen backing the government against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, as well as a blockade against Qatar that has dragged on.
Prince Mohammad “is very much a believer in himself. He doesn’t believe in anybody else”, Khashoggi told Newsweek.
“He doesn’t check. He doesn’t have proper advisers, and he is moving towards a Saudi Arabia according to him, a Saudi Arabia according to Mohammad bin Salman only.”
Two of the prince’s inner circle, deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and royal court media adviser Saud al-Qahtani, have been sacked for their roles in Khashoggi’s killing.
Yet Saudi officials have sought to shield the young prince from the gruesome affair, insisting he had “not been informed” of what was afoot.
MBS made a high-profile appearance at the investment forum this week. Winning a standing ovation from the gathered delegates, he later posed for selfies with participants, smiling broadly and appearing to brush aside a wave of boycotts by global business leaders and top officials.