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Mohammad decided to learn and gain experience in the
private sector before becoming the personal aide to his
father. He also worked as a consultant for the Experts
Commission, working for the Saudi Cabinet.
STEADY ASCENT TO POWER
He was quite young when he decided to enter politics -
at the age of 24 - and quickly rose from one position to
another including the positions of Secretary General of
the Riyadh Competitive Council, Special Advisor to the
Chairman of the Board for the King Abdulaziz Foundation
for Research and Archives, and a Member of the Board
of Trustees for Albir Society in the Riyadh region.
In October 2011, after the demise of Crown Prince
Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the current King Salman became
Second Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister in
November 2011 and made Mohammad bin Salman his
private advisor.
In 2012, Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
died and the current King Salman became the new
Crown Prince and the First Deputy Prime Minister.
Prince Muhammad bin Salman also moved up into the
number two position in the hierarchy. Soon, in 2014,
Prince Mohammad was appointed State Minister.
When in 2015 King Abdullah died, Salman became
the new king, and Prince Mohammad bin Salman was
appointed as the Minister of Defense and the Secretary
General of the Royal Court, in addition to his post as the
Minister of the State.
In 2017, King Salman decided to depose Muhammad
bin Nayef, who is King Salman’s nephew, and Mohammad
bin Salman was appointed the Crown Prince under King
Salman’s royal decree, and with this Prince Mohammad
became the heir apparent to the throne.
Even US President Donald Trump congratulated
Prince Mohammad on his elevation, and pledged close
cooperation on security and economic issues with him.
Both discussed the need to cut off support for terrorism,
the recent diplomatic dispute with Qatar, and the push
to secure peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Prince Mohammad asserted that “without America’s
cultural influence on Saudi Arabia, we would have ended
up like North Korea.”
IMPRESSIVE ADMINISTRATIVE ACUMEN
The first major challenge that came Prince Mohammad’s
way was the political unrest in Yemen. By late 2014, the
rebel Houthis had taken control of the Northern Yemen
and soon President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi and his
cabinet resigned. Prince Mohammad as Defense Minister
mobilized a pan-GCC coalition to intervene following
a series of suicide bombings in Sanaa via air strikes
against Houthis, and imposed a naval blockade. In early
2015, Saudi Arabia began leading a coalition of countries
allied against the Houthi rebels, and Prince Mohammad
bin Salman launched the war with a quick win on Houthi
rebels in Yemen and put President Hadi back in power.VISION 2030
Prince Mohammad’s enthusiasm, dynamic leadership and“PRINCE MOHAMMAD HAS ANNOUNCED A
PROJECT TO BUILD ONE OF THE WORLD’S
LARGEST CULTURAL, SPORTS AND
ENTERTAINMENT CITIES IN AL QIDIYA,
SOUTHWEST OF RIYADH, WHICH WOULD
INCLUDE A SAFARI & A THEME PARK”
commitment towards the restructuring of Saudi Arabia’s
economy is quite evident as in his Vision 2030 document
of 2015 he has developed and described Saudi Arabia’s
strategic orientation for the next 15 years.
Through Vision 2030, he plans to reform Saudi Arabia’s
economy towards a more diversified and privatized
structure, detailing goals and measures in various fields,
from developing non-oil revenues and privatization of the
economy to e-government and sustainable development.
In 2017, he organized the Future Investment Initiative
Conference in Riyadh and shared his plans for the
creation of Neom, a $500 billion economic zone to cover
an area of 26,000 square kilometres on Saudi Arabia’s
Red Sea coast, extending into Jordan and Egypt. Through
Neom, he has targeted to attract investment in sectors
including renewable energy, biotechnology, robotics and
advanced manufacturing.
His vision is to develop a 34,000 square kilometre area
across a lagoon of 50 islands on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea
coastline into a luxury tourism destination, which would
have laws at par with the international standards. To
boost the tourism industry further, he also announced
that Saudi Arabia would start issuing tourist visas for
foreigners. Through his Prince Mohammad bin Salman
Foundation, he has been working towards empowering
the younger generation.2017-18
PERSON OF THE YEAR
MOHAMMAD BIN
SALMAN AL SAUD