Saudi King Dismisses Bin Nayef as Crown Prince, Appoints Bin Salman Instead
Local Editor
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud replaced Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with his own son, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the deputy crown prince and defense minister.
According to a royal decree, the young Mohammed bin Salman was also named deputy prime minister, and shall maintain his post as defense minister, the official Saudi Press Agency [SPA] reported on Wednesday.
In this respect, Saudi media reported that King Salman called for a public pledge of allegiance to the new crown prince in the holy city of Mecca on Wednesday night.
Additionally, the SPA confirmed that 31 out of 34 members of Saudi Arabia's succession committee chose bin Salman as the crown prince.
A few days earlier, the Saudi king stripped bin Nayef of his powers overseeing criminal investigations and designated a new public prosecution office to function directly under the king's authority.
In a similar move back in 2015, the King Salman appointed his nephew, then deputy crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef as the heir to the throne after removing his own half-brother Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from the position.
Under the new decree, King Salman further relieved Mohammed bin Nayef of his duties as the interior minister. He appointed Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Nayef as the new interior minister and Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Salem as deputy interior minister.
Meanwhile, Bin Salman is already in charge of a vast portfolio as chief of the House of Saud royal court and chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, which is tasked with overhauling the country's economy.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
