King’s son replaces anti-terror chief as heir to Saudi throne

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has appointed his 31-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince, placing him first in line to the throne and removing the country’s counter-terrorism chief from the line of succession.

The monarch stripped Prince Mohammed bin Nayef of his title as crown prince and of his powerful position as the country’s interior minister overseeing security.

The announcements were made in a series of royal decrees carried on the staterun Saudi Press Agency.

The all-but-certain takeover of the throne by Mohammed bin Salman awards near absolute powers to a prince who has ruled out dialogue with rival Iran, has moved to isolate neighbouring Qatar for its support of Islamist groups and who has led a war in Yemen that has killed thousands of civilians. The prince already oversees a vast portfolio as defence minister and is spearheading economic reforms.

He has become popular among some of Saudi Arabia’s majority youth for pushing reforms that have opened the deeply conservative country to entertainment and greater foreign investments as part of an effort to overhaul the economy, including plans to list a percentage of the state-run oil giant Aramco.

The young prince was little known to Saudis and outsiders before Salman became king in January 2015.

He had previously been in charge of his father’s royal court when Salman was the crown prince.

The Saudi monarch quickly awarded his son expansive powers and named him deputy crown prince two years ago, to the surprise of many within the royal family who are more senior and more experienced than Mohammed bin Salman, also known by his initials MBS.

The appointment of such a young royal as the immediate heir to the throne essentially sets Saudi policy for decades and removes the challenge of uncertainty.

“He could be there for 50 years,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a research fellow at the James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.

“If you look at it positively, it is basically setting Saudi Arabia’s course into the 21st century.”

Another young prince also ascended to power yesterday.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud, 33, was named the new interior minister tasked with counter-terrorism efforts and domestic security.

His father is the governor of Saudi Arabia’s vast Eastern Province, home to much of the country’s oil wealth and most of its minority Shiites.

He previously served as an adviser to the interior and defence ministries.