The crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman has been appointed as the Prime Minister by his father Salman bin Abdulaziz, the king of the world’s largest oil exporting country. The 37-year-old prince will replace the 86-year-old king continuing a gradual transfer of power.

The reason for the decision was not stated in the royal decree issued on Tuesday. The king will continue to preside over cabinet sessions that he attends, according to the state-run news agency SPA. The king spent a week in hospital in May for medical checks and treatments, as per SPA.

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Prince Mohammed is already the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, and his appointment formalises his status as the kingdom’s leader.

The crown prince, whose initials are MBS, has held the positions of defence minister and deputy prime minister in the past. His younger brother, Khalid bin Salman, who was deputy defence minister, will take over as defence minister.

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Who is Mohammed bin Salman

MBS, who was born in 1985, considers himself to be a part of the first generation to have grown up in the digital era. He graduated from King Saud University with a law degree and began a turbulent career in government, battling with certain authorities while keeping strong links to his father, the former governor of Riyadh.

When King Salman took the throne in 2015, he appointed MBS as defence minister, and the prince’s prominence quickly grew. He oversaw all of the kingdom’s major ministries, from oil to foreign policy, by 2017.

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MBS has lifted several social restrictions, including lifting the ban on female drivers, limiting the role of the religious police, and permitting gender mingling and public performances. These changes are in accordance with the prince’s Vision 2030, which envisions a more open society and a more diverse economy.

Saudi authorities, however, have pushed down on internal opposition under the prince’s leadership, imprisoning businessmen, religious clerics, activists, authors, and scholars across all political parties. Authorities arrested Mohammed bin Nayef, the former crown prince, and the king’s own brother, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, in 2020, accusing them of undermining the state.

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Earlier this year, he met US President Joe Biden in the country in an attempt to repair strained bilateral relations with Washington after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul by Saudi agents in 2018.

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MBS has pursued a more assertive foreign policy than previous Saudi rulers, initiating and then resolving a dispute with neighbouring Qatar and also offsetting the dominance of regional rival Iran. In 2015, he also launched a bombing campaign in Yemen, where a civil conflict has degraded into one of the world’s worst refugee crises.