TheCable

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Wednesday relieved crown prince Mohammed bin Nayef of his duties and replaced him with his son, Mohammed bin Salman, the deputy crown prince.

A royal decree has been published to effect the change.

The decision by King Salman to promote his son and consolidate his power was endorsed by 31 out of 34 members of the Allegiance Council, made up of senior members of the ruling Al Saud family, the royal decree said.

Analysts said the change empowers Mohammed bin Salman to move faster with his plan to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil, which includes the partial privatisation of state oil company Aramco.

“The change is a huge boost to the economic reform program, Vision 2030 and the whole paradigm shift that Saudi Arabia is traversing and Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is its architect,” said John Sfakianakis, director of the Riyadh-based Gulf research center.

“It’s important that MbS see through his vision and strategy being implemented and sustained.”

Muhammad bin Nayef, born August 30, 1959, was the first deputy prime minister and the minister of interior of Saudi Arabia.

He is also the chairman of the new Council for Political and Security Affairs.

He was appointed as the heir apparent by Salman on April 29, 2015.

As crown prince, he was the first in line to the throne of Saudi Arabia.

He is a member of the House of Saud and a nephew of Salman.

Salman is the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the youngest minister of defense in the world.

He is also chief of the House of Saud royal court, and chairman of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs.