RIYADH, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz named his son and heir Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the kingdom’s prime minister and his second son Prince Khalid as defense minister, a royal decree said on Tuesday.
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.
The crown prince, known as MbS, had been the defense minister and has been the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter and a major U.S. ally in the Middle East.
Prince Khalid bin Salman, MbS’s younger brother, previously served as deputy defense minister.
King Salman will still preside over the Cabinet meetings he attends, the decree said. Later after the announcement, Saudi state TV showed the king chairing Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.
