***UPDATE: This post originally reported that Eng. Ali Al-Naimi was relieved of his post. Naimi is still Minister of Petroleum of Natural Resources, but is no longer Chairman of Saudi Aramco. ***
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman issued a series of royal orders yesterday initiating a major shakeup in governance in Saudi Arabia, the SPA reports.
As reports and analyses emerge on the shift, SUSTG.com and our sister site SUSRIS will share coverage and other important information regarding the changes. Here are 10 things you need to know about today’s royal decrees:
1. Former Crown Prince Muqrin was relieved of his duties. The SPA reports that Crown Prince Muqrin wrote a letter to King Salman “containing his desire to be relieved of the post of the Crown Prince.” Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef will become the new Crown Prince and first in-line to become King of Saudi Arabia. Prince Mohammed bin Nayef is currently the Interior Minister in charge of state security.
2. King Salman’s son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is now second in-line to the throne as the new Deputy Crown Prince. Prince Mohammed bin Salman is no longer head of the Royal Court, a powerful position that serves as a “gatekeeper” to the King, but is still Minister of Defense and holds the top rank in the recently established Council of Economic and Development Affairs.
3. The longest serving foreign minister in the world, Prince Saud al-Faisal, has been relieved of his duties “for health conditions.”
4. Prince Saud al-Faisal will be replaced by Adel Al Jubeir, the Saudi Ambassador to the United States.
5. Saudi Arabia’s long-serving Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources, Ali Al Naimi, was relieved of his duties as Chairman of Saudi Aramco.
6. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh, former President of Aramco, now becomes Chairman of Saudi Aramco.
7. Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health received a major shakeup. In addition to his new duties as Minister of Petroleum and natural Resources, Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh will be the new Health Minister. Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development Dr. Mohammed bin Hamza bin Bakr Khashim was relieved of his position, as was Dr. Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdullah Al-Hawasi, Deputy Minister of Health for Health Affairs.
8. King Salman also relieved Adel bin Mohammed Al Faqih, the Minister of Labor, of his post. Al Faqih will now become Minister of Economy and Planning, taking over that spot from Mohammed Al Jasser, who was relieved of his post.
9. Dr. Mufrej bin Saad Al-Haqbani will be the new Minister of Labor.
10. Saudi Arabia will pay its military and security sector personnel one month’s salary for their services, as Saudi Arabia’s air strikes and border security operations along its southern border with Yemen continue on.
