King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, appointed his second son Prince Khalid as defence minister on Tuesday. He also named his son and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the country’s prime minister.
The reshuffle kept another son, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, as energy minister, the royal decree, carried by state news agency SPA, said.
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan and Investment Minister Khalid Al Falih remained unchanged, the decree showed.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman had been the defence minister and Prince Khalid bin Salman, Crown Prince’s younger brother, previously served as deputy defence minister.
King Salman will still preside the cabinet meetings that he attends, the decree said.
The 86-year-old king became Ruler in 2015.
Since 2017, Prince Mohammed has made significant changes to Saudi Arabia, including allowing women to drive, reducing the influence of the clerics over society, and leading initiatives to diversify the economy away from dependency on oil.
