In a royal decree published last week, something happened in Saudi Arabia:
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was appointed Prime Minister by his father, and his brother Khaled was appointed Minister of Defense.
Khaled served until now as the Deputy Minister of Defense, and in the past was a pilot and ambassador in Washington.
The one who will meet them in the cabinet is their brother, Abdel-Aziz al-Salman, who will continue to hold the Ministry of Energy.
He was appointed back in 2019 and holds the keys to the oil industry.
Together, the three hold the three most significant positions in the Saudi government.
everything stays in the family
"Historically, the crown prince is the prime minister," explains Dr. Yossi Man, an expert on Saudi Arabia and a researcher at Bar Ilan University.
But the person who runs the country is usually the heir to the throne.
Historically, that's what happened."
The king is not omnipotent.
Salman, photo: AFP
So why now?
"I suppose that, after all, being prime minister is something that requires experience. Saudi Arabia today is a much more complex country than ten years ago. There are two aspects: putting someone who has gained experience in several ministries, and preparing the ground. It is preparing a regent by agreement. It is not so much It is true that a king is omnipotent. There are chiefs of tribes, there are princes, there are 'cliques', there are clerics. These things need to be approved, so it takes time. There is more legitimacy."
The appointments at the top of the Saudi government come when King Salman suffers from poor health due to his advanced age (86).
Before he was king, Salman held the position of governor of Riyadh for many years, and from 2011 he also served as the minister of defense.
Together with his six siblings from his mother, Hassa bint Ahmed al-Soudiiri, they were considered an influential faction in Saudi Arabia.
A guard of honor in Ankara in honor of the arrival of bin Salman, photo: Reuters
"What is happening here is somewhat reminiscent of the 'Seven Sudairs', when the brothers occupy all the key positions. This means that they will control the army through the Minister of Defense. When you control all the main ministries - you are Prime Minister, you have a brother who is Minister of Defense and you have a brother who is the minister of oil - you actually control all the most important offices in the kingdom. So it seems that they are replicating this model of the 'Seven Sudairs'. In fact, this is how they throw out the cousins and the uncles, and leave it only within Salman's family. This is a very dangerous step in the kingdom
"It seems that bin Salman holds the reins tightly, but there was already a king who tried to do this - Saud bin Abdul-Aziz, the second king of modern Saudi Arabia. He appointed his son (Minister of Defense; SHK), and this created unrest among the princes until to overthrow the king".
In the international arena, Bin Salman is gaining popularity.
The crown prince recently successfully mediated a prisoner deal with Russia in the war in Ukraine.
Even British Prime Minister Liz Truss congratulated bin Salman.
It is hard to remember that in recent years the prince was an unwanted personality in the West, following the assassination of the Saudi journalist in Istanbul in 2018.
The religious sages are still here
However, Dr. Man mentions that there are internal forces in Saudi Arabia that have not really disappeared like the clerics. "There is a very conservative core, there are princes who have 'disappeared'.
All kings have sons, they can't be gone.
They have a power base, they have tribes they talk to.
If it succeeds - it will be amazing.
I also hear other voices.
Some who say it's getting dangerous and can end badly.
Not something that doesn't happen in Saudi Arabia."
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