Early Life and Education
Prince Mohammed was born to King Salman and Fahda bint Falah, the King’s third spouse, in 1985. The Prince is a direct descendant of the Sudairi tribe which heavily influences and shapes the current political landscape of the Kingdom. The Prince graduated with a bachelor degree in law from King Saud University.
Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s Career
Prince Mohammed’s rise to one of the most important positions in the Kingdom has been hasty, and has occupied in several key posts in in the Kingdom during a relatively short time. When his father, at the time the Crown Prince, became Defence Minister, Prince Mohammed moved with him and acted as his “Private and Special Advisor”, in what would be a preview of his later role.
The Saudi Prince was appointed President of the Crown Prince’s Court by the father in the rank of Minister taking over from Saud bin Nayef, who moved to occupy Eastern Province governorship post on 25 April 2014. The Prince was also made State Minister at this time.
Prince Mohammed became Minister of Defence at 30 years of age. The Prince took over the defence ministry portfolio at the same age as his predecessor, Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, who was the first to occupy the office at the same age and served in the position until he became crown Prince in 2011.
Prince Mohammed was appointed Minister of Defence and named the Secretary General of the Royal Court on 23 January 2015 when the father ascended to the throne as the new King of Saudi Arabia. The Prince was also assigned chief of Royal Protocol and special advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on January 23 2015. In addition Prince Mohammed’s previous duty as Minister of State continued to run concurrently with the new appointments.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s position in the military plays a pivotal in sealing the country’s arms deals with foreign powers, worth tens of billions of dollars annually, and has so far involved trips to Russia and the USA, where he took part in Obama’s Camp David summit with the a number of GCC leaders. The Kingdom’s heavy government spending on defence is on target to increase under Prince Mohammed in the near future, based on new contracts he has negotiated with France, the US and UK.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Prince Mohammad bin Salman was appointed Crown Prince on 21 June 2017, following his father’s decision to remove Muhammad bin Nayef from the position, making the Prince heir to the throne. The change of succession had been predicted by many experts on the royal family after the then Deputy Crown Prince showed great leadership as head of the Saudi Military.
Latest Prince Mohammed bin Salman Videos
A 60 Minutes team returns from Saudi Arabia and talks about how the society is changing, especially for women
Main Activities of the Crown Prince
The Prince was named chair of the newly established Council for Economic and Development Affairs four days after his appointment as Defence Minister, on 29 January 2015. The newly created Council for Economic and Development Affairs replaced the disbanded Supreme Economic Commission.
Mohammed Bin Salman Al Saud’s Other Activities
Prince Mohammed spearheads various youth oriented philanthropic groups in the Kingdom, and is known as both a kind and charitable individual. The Prince currently chairs Prince Salman Youth Centre and is the Secretary General of the Riyadh Competitiveness Centre, which both do important youth work in the community.
The Prince always accompanies the father on local and foreign travels, and is currently in Tangier, Morocco with King Salman and the other accompanying Princes and members of Government.