Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: محمد بن سلمان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود Muhammad bin Salmān bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd; born 31 August 1985 [1][2][3]), known colloquially as MbS,[1][4][5] is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, also serving as Deputy Prime Minister,[6] President of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs and Minister of Defense – the world's youngest at the time of his appointment.[7] He has been described as the power behind the throne of his father, King Salman.[8] He was appointed Crown Prince[9] in June 2017 following King Salman’s decision to remove Muhammad bin Nayef from all positions, making Mohammad bin Salman heir apparent to the throne.[10][11][12]
He has led several successful reforms, which include regulations restricting the powers of the religious police, [13] and the removal of the ban on female drivers.[14] Further cultural developments under his reign include the first Saudi public concerts by a female singer, the first Saudi sports stadium to admit women,[15] and an increased presence of women in the workforce.[16] His Vision 2030 program aims to diversify the Saudi economy through investment in non-oil sectors including technology and tourism. In 2016 he announced plans to list the shares of the state oil company Saudi Aramco.[17]
Despite international praise for his strides towards the social and economic liberalisation of Saudi Arabia, commentators and human rights groups have been vocally critical of Mohammad bin Salman's leadership and the shortfalls of his reform program, citing a rising number of detentions of human rights activists, his intervention in Yemen, the escalation of the Qatar diplomatic crisis[18], the start of the Lebanon–Saudi Arabia dispute, and the arrest of members of the Saudi royal family in November 2017.[19][20][21] NGOs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch continue to criticize the Saudi government for its violations of human rights.[22][23][24]
- ^ a b "Profile: Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman". Al Jazeera. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ "Ministries". Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia - Washington, DC. 30 April 2003. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ "Who is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed?". BBC News. 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 14 October 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
- ^ Friedman, Thomas L. (23 November 2017). "Saudi Arabia's Arab Spring, at Last". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ^ "Muhammad bin Salman cracks down on his perceived opponents". The Economist. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017.
- ^ "Mohammad bin Salman named new Saudi Crown Prince". TASS. Beirut. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ "Mohammed bin Nayef kingpin in new Saudi Arabia: country experts". Middle East Eye. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
- ^ Transcript: Interview with Muhammad bin Salman Archived 9 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine The Economist, 6 January 2016.
- ^ Anthony Bond, Rachael Burford (24 October 2017). "Saudi Arabia will return to moderate, open Islam and 'will destroy extremist ideas', says crown prince". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 October 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2017.
- ^ CNN, Nicole Chavez, Tamara Qiblawi and James Griffiths. "Saudi Arabia's king replaces nephew with son as heir to throne". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Raghavan, Sudarsan; Fahim, Kareem (21 June 2017). "Saudi king names son as new crown prince, upending the royal succession line". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
- ^ "Saudi royal decrees announcing Prince Mohammed BinSalman as the new crown prince". The National. Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Media. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
- ^ Mark Mazzetti; Ben Hubbard (16 October 2016). "Rise of Saudi Prince Shatters Decades of Royal Tradition". The New York Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia will finally allow women to drive". The Economist. 27 September 2017. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia to allow women to enter stadiums to watch soccer". New York Post. 12 January 2018. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
- ^ "Mohammed bin Salman's reforms in Saudi Arabia could benefit us all". The Independent. 2 March 2018. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia is considering an IPO of Aramco, probably the world's most valuable company". The Economist. 7 January 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ CNN, Hamdi Alkhshali and Tamara Qiblawi. "Saudi Crown Prince calls Qatar embargo a 'small issue'". CNN. Archived from the original on 6 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ Hearst, David (21 June 2017). "Mohammed Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's Prince Of Chaos". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ Eye, Middle East (22 June 2017). "Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's prince of chaos". Medium. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ Mazzetti, Mark; Hubbard, Ben (15 October 2016). "Rise of Saudi Prince Shatters Decades of Royal Tradition". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia: Intensified Repression of Writers, Activists". Human Rights Watch. 6 February 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia: 2 Rights Advocates Arrested". Human Rights Watch. 11 January 2017. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ "Update: Saudi Arabia: Systematic targeting of members of ACPRA continues". gc4hr.org. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.