(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia yesterday appointed a new crown prince and made his young son second in line to rule, a major shift in power towards two princes who have overseen a more assertive stance at a time of almost unprecedented regional turmoil.
By making Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Interior Minister and Head of the Council of the Political and Security Affairs and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as Deputy Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of the Board of Economic Affairs and Development, King Salman has effectively decided the line of succession for decades to come in the kingdom.
Qatar's Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani sent cables of congratulations to the new leaders.
Prince Mohammed bin Nayef replaces Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. A statement from the royal court, carried by the Saudi Press Agency, said Prince Muqrin's removal was a response to "what he had expressed about his desire to be relieved from the position of crown prince".
In another big shift, King Salman replaced veteran Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal, who had served in the role since October 1975, with the kingdom's Washington Ambassador Adel Al Jubeir, the first non-royal to hold the post. aisal stepped down for health reasons. Jubeir's first test as the new foreign minister will come today when Gulf foreign ministers meet in Riyadh to discuss the campaign in Yemen ahead of a summit of their heads of state next week. Jubeir has been Riyadh's ambassador to Washington for eight years.
The shake-up also saw King Salman name Khalid Al Falih, the head of oil giant Saudi Aramco, as health minister. Ali bin Ibrahim Al Nuaimi retained his position as the kingdom's oil minister, a position he has held for 20 years.
Labour Minister Adel Fakieh was moved to the post of economy and planning, as the kingdom seeks to diversify its oil-based economy. But the country's highest-ranking female official, Nora bint Abdullah Al Fayez, was let go from her post as deputy minister of education for girls.
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