Mohammad bin Salman

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Mohammad bin Salman

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

Defense Minister of Saudi Arabia

Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud

Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia

Reign 21 June 2017 – present

Predecessor Muhammad bin Nayef

 31 August 1985 (age 32)
Born
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Sara bint Mashoor bin Abdulaziz Al

Spouse
Saud[1]

Issue 3

Full name
Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul
Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin
Mohammed bin Saud

House House of Saud

Father King Salman

Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan bin Hathleen

Mother
al-Ajmi

Religion Sunni Islam

Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: ‫ ;محمد بن سلمان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود‬born
31 August 1985), also known as MBS,[2][3] is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, also serving as
First Deputy Prime Minister,[4] President of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs
and Minister of Defense—the world's youngest office holder at the time.[5] He has been described
as the power behind the throne of his father, King Salman.[6] He was appointed Crown Prince[7] in
June 2017 following his father's decision to remove Muhammad bin Nayef from all positions,
making Mohammad bin Salman heir apparent to the throne.[8][9][10] He has been accused of risking
instability in the Middle East through his detention of human rights activists, intervention in
Yemen, escalation of Saudi's diplomatic crisis with Qatar[11] and the start of the diplomatic crisis
with Lebanon, as well as his arrests of members of the Saudi royal family in November
2017.[12][13][14] His proposed Saudi 2030 vision includes economic, social and religious changes,
and plans to list shares of the coveted, state-owned oil company Aramco.[15][16][17]

Despite promised reforms, the arrests and persecutions rate of human rights activists have risen
under Mohammad bin Salman. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch continue to
criticize the Saudi government for its violations of human rights.[18][19][20]
Contents
[hide]

 1 Early life and education

 2 Career
o 2.1 Chief of the Court
o 2.2 Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince
o 2.3 Crown Prince
 3 Persecution of human rights activists
o 3.1 Executing peaceful protesters
o 3.2 Use of counterterrorism laws to prosecute human rights activists
 4 Political and economic changes
o 4.1 Vision 2030
o 4.2 Domestic reforms
o 4.3 2017 purge
 5 Philanthropy
 6 Controversies
 7 Personal life
 8 Ancestry
 9 See also
 10 Notes and references
o 10.1 Notes
o 10.2 References
 11 Further information

Early life and education

Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud was born on 31 August 1985[21] in Jeddah.[22][note 1] He is the son of
King Salman from his third spouse,[24] Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan bin Hathleen.[1] She is the
granddaughter of Rakan bin Hithalayn, who was the head of the Al Ajman tribe.[25]

Prince Mohammad bin Salman is the eldest of his full siblings,[24] Turki bin Salman, former
chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, and Khalid bin Salman.[26] Prince
Mohammad holds a bachelor's degree in law from King Saud University,[27] and has been called a
"lawyer by training".[2]

Career
After graduating from college, Mohammad bin Salman spent several years in the private sector
before becoming personal aide to his father. He worked as a consultant for the Experts
Commission, working for the Saudi Cabinet.[28]

On 15 December 2009, at the age of 24, Mohammad bin Salman entered politics as a special
advisor to his father when the latter was the governor of Riyadh Province.[29] At this time,
Mohammad bin Salman began to rise from one position to another such as secretary-general of
the Riyadh Competitive Council, special advisor to the chairman of the board for the King
Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, and a member of the board of trustees for
Albir Society in the Riyadh region.[30]

In October 2011, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz died, and the current King Salman began
his ascent to power by becoming second deputy prime minister and defense minister in
November 2011 and making Mohammad bin Salman his private advisor.[31]

Chief of the Court

In June 2012, Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud died and Prince Muhammad bin
Salman moved up into the number two position in the hierarchy, as his father became the new
crown prince and first deputy prime minister. He soon began remaking the court in his own
image. On 2 March 2013, the chief of the Crown Prince court Prince Saud bin Nayef was
appointed governor of the Eastern Province and Prince Mohammad bin Salman succeeded him in
the post. He was also given the rank of minister.[32][33][34] On 25 April 2014 Prince Mohammad was
appointed state minister.[30]

Defense Minister and Deputy Crown Prince

Prince Mohammad with US Secretary of State John Kerry, 7 May 2015

Prince Mohammad with Russian President Vladimir Putin, 18 June 2015

United States Defense Secretary Ash Carter welcomes Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud to the
Pentagon, 13 May 2015

President Donald Trump speaks with Prince bin Salman, Washington, D.C., 14 March 2017
Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud with U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, 16 March
2017
On 23 January 2015, King Abdullah died, Salman took the throne and Prince Mohammad bin
Salman was appointed Minister of Defense.[35] He was also named as the Secretary General of the
Royal Court on the same date.[36] In addition he retained his post as the Minister of the State.[37][38]

In Yemen, the political unrest (which began escalating in 2011) rapidly became a major issue for
the newly appointed Minister of Defense, with rebel Houthis taking control of northern Yemen
in late 2014, followed by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his cabinet’s resignation.
Mohammad bin Salman’s first move as minister was to mobilize a pan-GCC coalition to
intervene following a series of suicide bombings in Sanaa via air strikes against Houthis, and
impose a naval blockade.[39] In March 2015, Saudi Arabia began leading a coalition of countries
allied against the Houthi rebels.[40] According to The New York Times, "Although all agreed that
the Kingdom had to respond when the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital and forced the
government into exile, Prince Mohammad bin Salman took the lead, launching the war in March
2015 without full coordination across the security services." Prince Mohammed bin Salman
maintained restrictive coordination across security services and drove operations from the
Maldives. Saudi National Guard Minister Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, who was out of the
country, was not in the loop of the operations, and US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter officially
declared having trouble reaching him for days after the first strikes."[41] While Prince Mohammad
bin Salman sold the war as a quick win on Houthi rebels in Yemen and a way to put President
Hadi back in power, however, it became a long war of attrition.[42][43]

In April 2015, Muhammad bin Nayef and Prince Mohammad bin Salman respectively became
Crown Prince and Deputy Crown Prince, under King Salman’s royal decrees.[44]

Regarding his role in the military intervention, Prince Mohammad bin Salman gave his first on-
the-record interview on 4 January 2016 to The Economist, which had called him the architect of
the war in Yemen. Denying the title, he explained the mechanism of the decision-making
institutions actually holding stakes in the intervention, including the council of security and
political affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the Saudi side. He added that the Houthis
usurped power in the Yemeni capital Sana’a before he served as Minister of Defense.[45][46][42]

Crown Prince

Mohammad bin Salman was appointed Crown Prince on 21 June 2017, following his father's
decision to depose Muhammad bin Nayef, making him heir apparent to the throne.[47][48] The
change of succession had been predicted in December 2015 by an unusually blunt and public
memo published by the German Federal Intelligence Service,[49][50] which was subsequently
rebuked by the German government.[51]

On the day he became Crown Prince, U.S. President Donald Trump called Mohammad bin
Salman to "congratulate him on his recent elevation". Trump and the new crown prince pledged
"close cooperation" on security and economic issues, according to the White House, and the two
leaders also discussed the need to cut off support for terrorism, the recent diplomatic dispute with
Qatar, and the push to secure peace between Israel and the Palestinians.[52] Mohammad bin
Salman told the Washington Post in April 2017 that without America's cultural influence on
Saudi Arabia, "we would have ended up like North Korea."[53]
Persecution of human rights activists

Abdullah al-Hamid, a poet, former Arabic professor, human rights activist and a co-founder of
the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA).He has been imprisoned seven times
for supporting the establishment of a constitutional monarchy in Saudi Arabia. He is serving an
11-years jail sentence since 2013.

Despite promised reforms, the arrests and persecution of activists has risen under Mohammad
bin Salman. According to the Gulf Centre for Human Rights: "The human rights situation in
Saudi Arabia has markedly deteriorated and there has been a renewed crackdown against human
rights defenders, since the accession of Mohammad bin Salman as Crown Prince in June 2017.
The environment for human rights defenders has become increasingly dangerous and they face
targeting by authorities on a daily basis."[54]

The recent crackdown on human right activists includes the academic and novelist Dr. Mustafa
al-Hassan , Abdullah al-Malki was arrested from his home and his whereabouts remain
unknown. Essam al-Zamel, an activist and critic of economic reform. The three were all arrested
on day in 12 September 2017. Two prominent Saudi Arabian human rights defenders and
founding members of ACPRA, Abdulaziz al-Shubaily and Issa al-Hamid, were arrested on 16
September 2017. Issa al-Hamid was charged with "communicating with international
organisations in order to harm the image of the state."[55] he was sentenced to 11 years in prison
on appeal, and a nine years of travel ban after he served his sentence. Following an appeal, an
additional two years were added to his prison sentence, and he was fined USD$26,665.

On 10 November 2017, the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia sentenced
the Internet activist Naima Al-Matrood[56] to six years in jail followed by six years of travel ban
after her sentence is served.

Amnesty international and Human rights watch continue to criticize the Saudi government for its
violations of human rights. Saudi activists and dissidents currently serving long prison terms
based solely on their peaceful activism include Waleed Abulkhair, Mohammed al-Qahtani, ,
Fadhil al-Manasif, Sulaiman al-Rashoodi, Abdulkareem al-Khodr, Fowzan al-Harbi, Raif
Badawi, Saleh al-Ashwan, Abdullah al-Hamid, Alaa Brinji, and Nadhir al-Majed. Activists Issa
al-Nukheifi and Essam Koshak are currently on trial. In late July, 2017 a Saudi appeals court
upheld an eight-year prison sentence against Abdulaziz al-Shubaily. Mohammed al-Oteibi and
Abdullah Attawi are still on trial for forming a human rights organization in 2013.[18][19][20]

Executing peaceful protesters

Among those executed in 2016 were Ali Sa'eed al-Ribh,[57][58] whose trial judgment indicates that
he was under 18 at the time of some of the crimes for which he was sentenced to death. As a
state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Saudi Arabia is legally obliged to ensure
that no one under 18 at the time of a crime is sentenced to death or to life in prison without the
possibility of release.

Ali al-Nimr arrested at 17 and sentenced to death by beheading at 18

Ali al-Nimr,[59] Abdullah al-Zaher and Dawood al-Marhoon, were arrested individually in 2012
aged 17, 16 and 17 respectively are at risk of being executed at any time. On 10 July, 2017
Abdulkareem al-Hawaj[60][61] had his death sentence upheld on appeal. He was found guilty of
crimes committed when he was 16. The four young men were convicted of security-related
offences after taking part in anti-government protests.[62]

Use of counterterrorism laws to prosecute human rights activists

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Counter Terrorism, Ben Emmerson, criticized Saudi
for violating human rights in the name of fighting terrorism during his visit to Saudi Arabia from
30 April to 4 May 2017. In his report,[63] Saudi uses its terrorism tribunal and counterterrorism
law to unjustly prosecute human rights defenders, writers, and peaceful critics.[64] The report
states: "the Special Rapporteur would like to share some observations, concerns and
recommendations with regard to the unacceptably broad definition of terrorism, and the use of
the 2014 counter-terrorism law and other national security provisions against human rights
defenders, writers, bloggers, journalists and other peaceful critics. He would also like to raise the
continuing problems relating to the prevention of torture of terrorist suspects during
investigation; the reported use of confessions obtained by duress during interrogation, the use of
the death penalty following proceedings in which there are reported due process
shortcomings".[65]

Political and economic changes

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On 29 January 2015, Prince Mohammad was named the chair of the newly established Council
for Economic and Development Affairs,[66] replacing the disbanded Supreme Economic
Commission.[66] In April 2015, Prince Mohammad bin Salman was given control over Saudi
Aramco by royal decree following his appointment as deputy crown prince.[67]

Vision 2030

Main article: Saudi Vision 2030

Prince Mohammad bin Salman took the leadership in the restructuring of Saudi Arabia's
economy, which he officially announced in April 2016 when he introduced Vision 2030, the
country's strategic orientation for the next 15 years. Vision 2030 plans to reform Saudi's
economy towards a more diversified and privatized structure. It details goals and measures in
various fields, from developing non-oil revenues and privatization of the economy to e-
government and sustainable development.[68]

Prince Mohammad bin Salman's biggest bet was his plan to restore the Saudi kingdom's
dominance in global oil markets by driving the new competition into bankruptcy, by keeping the
oil price low enough for a long enough period. Saudi Arabia persuaded OPEC to do the same. A
few small players went bankrupt, but American frackers only shut down their less-profitable
operations temporarily, and waited for oil prices to go up again. Saudi Arabia, which had been
spending $100 billion a year to keep services and subsidies going, had to admit defeat in
November 2016. It then cut production significantly and asked its OPEC partners to do the
same.[42]

Domestic reforms

Prince bin Salman has successfully lobbied for regulations restricting the powers of the religious
police.[41] Prince bin Salman established an entertainment authority that has hosted comedy
shows, pro wrestling events, and monster truck rallies.[41] In an interview with al Arabiya he also
shared his idea for "Green cards" for non-Saudi foreigners.[69]

The first measures undertaken in April 2016 included new taxes and cuts in subsidies, a
diversification plan, the creation of a $2 trillion Saudi sovereign wealth fund, and a series of
strategic economic reforms called the National Transformation Programme.[70] Prince bin Salman
plans to raise capital for the sovereign wealth fund by selling off shares of Saudi Aramco, the
state-owned petroleum and natural gas company,[67] with the capital to be re-invested in other
sectors such as to implement the diversification plans.[71] However, as of October 2017, the plan
for Aramco’s IPO listing has been labeled "a mess" by The Economist.[72]

Prince Mohammad bin Salman slashed the state budget, freezing government contracts and
reducing the pay of civil employees as part of drastic austerity measures. Within hours of doing
so, he bought the Serene.[73][42]

Prince Mohammad is seen as the figure behind the removal of the ban on female drivers in
September 2017.[74] He has also chipped away at Saudi Arabia’s Wali system.[75]

In October 2017, he said the ultra-conservative Saudi state had been "not normal" for the past 30
years, blaming rigid doctrines that have governed society in a reaction to the Iranian Revolution,
which successive leaders "didn’t know how to deal with".[76] According to him, Saudi Arabia is
"returning to what we were before—a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and
to the world".[77] In essence, he was telling the country's clerics that the deal the royal family
struck with them after the 1979 siege of the Grand Mosque in Mecca is being renegotiated.[78]
Building an industrial culture was not compatible with Wahhabism. The Wahhabis were
committed to fixed social and gender relationships. These were consistent with an economy built
on oil sales, but industrialization requires a dynamic culture with social relations constantly
shifting.[79]

According to Politico, MbS wants to pre-empt a repetition of the downfall of the earlier Saudi
states due to familial infighting, internal malaise, external frailty and failure to modernize.
Mindful of this history, instead of waiting for today’s Saudi state to weaken and fall, MBS is
trying to save the country before it collapses.[80]

Ayaan Hirsi Ali claims that "if M.B.S. succeeds in his modernization efforts, Saudis will benefit
from new opportunities and freedoms, and the world will benefit from curtailing the Wahhabi
radicalization agenda. A decade from now, the kingdom could look more like the United Arab
Emirates, its prosperous and relatively forward-looking neighbor."[81]

2017 purge

Main article: 2017 Saudi Arabian purge

In May 2017, Mohammad bin Salman publicly warned "I confirm to you, no one will survive in
a corruption case—whoever he is, even if he’s a prince or a minister".[82] On 4 November 2017,
the Saudi press announced the arrest of the Saudi prince and billionaire Al-Waleed bin Talal, a
frequent English-language news commentator and a major shareholder in Citi, News Corp and
Twitter, as well as over 40 princes and government ministers at the behest of the Crown Prince
on corruption and money laundering charges.[83][84]

Others arrested or fired in the purge included Mutaib bin Abdullah, head of the Saudi Arabian
National Guard, Adel Fakeih, the Minister of Economy and Planning, and the Commander of the
Saudi Naval Forces, Admiral Abdullah bin Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Sultan.[83][85]

Some analysts saw the arrests as part of a power grab on the part of Salman. The New York Times
wrote:

“
The sweeping campaign of arrests appears to be the latest move to consolidate the
power of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the favorite son and top adviser of
King Salman. The king had decreed the creation of a powerful new anticorruption
committee, headed by the crown prince, only hours before the committee ordered
the arrests.[85] ”
Writing for the Huffington Post, University of Delaware professor of Islam and Global Affairs,
Muqtedar Khan, speculated as to whether the removal of Talal, a critic of Donald Trump,
amounted to a coup.[86] BBC correspondent Frank Gardner was quoted as saying that "Prince
Mohammed is moving to consolidate his growing power while spearheading a reform
programme". Yet "[i]t is not clear what those detained are suspected of."[87]

Other analysts see the purge as part of a move towards reform. Steven Mufson of the
Washington Post argues that Crown Prince Mohammed “knows that only if he can place the
royal family under the law, and not above as it was in the past, can he ask the whole country to
change their attitudes relative to taxes [and] subsidies.”[88] An analysis from the CBC claimed that
"the clampdown against corruption resonates with ordinary Saudis who feel that the state has
been asking them to accept belt tightening while, at the same time, they see corruption and the
power elite accumulating more wealth".[89] Bin Salman's ambitious reform agenda is widely
popular with Saudi Arabia's burgeoning youth population but faces resistance from some of the
old guard more comfortable with the kingdom's traditions of incremental change and rule by
consensus.[90] According to a former British ambassador to Riyadh, Bin Salman "is the first
prince in modern Saudi history whose constituency has not been within the royal family, it’s
outside it. It’s been young Saudis, particularly younger Saudi men in the street".[91]

Robert Jordan, former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, said that "Certainly Saudi Arabia has had
a corruption problem for many years. I think the population, especially, has been very unhappy
with princes coming in and grabbing business deals, with public funds going to flood control
projects that never seem to get built... I would also say it's a classical power grab move
sometimes to arrest your rivals, your potential rivals under the pretext of corruption".[92]

A Eurasia Group director states that "Mohammed bin Salman is in effect taking steps to separate
the Al Saud family from the state...The process of destroying old elite networks that
monopolized access to profitable contracts bodes well for the business environment."[82][unreliable
source?]

US President Trump expressed support for the move, tweeting "I have great confidence in King
Salman and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, they know exactly what they are doing....Some of
those they are harshly treating have been “milking” their country for years!"[93][94] French
President Macron, who visited Riyadh days after the purge, when asked about the purge "This is
not the role of a president, and similarly I would not expect a leader of a foreign country to come
and infringe on domestic matters," Macron said.[95]

Philanthropy
Mohammad bin Salman established himself as the chairman of the Prince Mohammad bin
Salman Foundation, otherwise known as MiSK, which puts in place activities empowering and
enabling the younger generation, in line with Vision 2030’s goals of a more developed nation.[96]
The foundation was a partner of the 9th UNESCO Youth Forum for Change in 2015.[97] In 2017,
the with Vision 2030 goals aligned new city, Neom was announced.[98]

The foundation focuses on the country's youth and provides different means of fostering talent,
creative potential, and innovation in a healthy environment that offers opportunities in arts and
sciences. The foundation pursues these goals by establishing programs and partnering with local
and global organizations. It intends to develop intellectual capability in youth, as well as unlock
the potential of all Saudi people.[99] Saudi journalists traveling with Prince Mohammed on foreign
delegations have been paid up to $100,000 in cash.[41]

Controversies
In late 2015, Prince Mohammad attended a meeting between King Salman and U.S. President
Barack Obama, where the prince broke protocol to deliver a monologue criticizing U.S. foreign
policy.[41] In addition, when Prince bin Salman announced an anti-terrorist military alliance of
Islamic countries in December 2015, some of the countries involved said they had not been
consulted.[41]

On 10 January 2016, The Independent reported that "the BND, the German intelligence agency,
portrayed...Saudi defence minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman...as a
political gambler who is destabilising the Arab world through proxy wars in Yemen and
Syria."[44][42][46][100] German officials reacted to the BND’s memo, saying the published statement "is
not the position of the federal government".[51]

During the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen, thousands of civilians were reportedly killed in a
major bombing campaign, prompting accusations of war crimes in the intervention.[101][102][103] So
far, the war has already cost the kingdom tens of billions of dollars and destroyed much of
Yemen's infrastructure but failed to dislodge the Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies from the
Yemeni capital.[73][44][43]
Mohammad bin Salman has been criticised for his purchase of a French château and luxury
yacht, while at the same time "leading a sweeping crackdown on corruption and self-enrichment
by the Saudi elite" and demanding fiscal austerity within Saudi Arabia.[104]

Personal life
Mohammad bin Salman has a princely lifestyle. In 2015, he purchased the Italian-built and
Bermuda-registered yacht Serene from Russian vodka tycoon Yuri Shefler for €500
million.[105][106] In 2017 he bought the Château Louis XIV located near Versailles in France for
$301,000,000 ($304 million as of 2017).[104][107]

Mohammad has travelled extensively around the world, meeting with politicians, business
leaders and celebrities.[106] In June 2016, he travelled to Silicon Valley and met key people in the
US high tech industry, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.[108]

Mohammad bin Salman married Princess Sarah bint Mashhoor bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 2008.
They have three children.[109][1]