Riyadh: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia on Wednesday named his powerful interior minister as heir in a generational shift that also saw one of his sons promoted to second in line to the throne.
A royal decree removed Crown Prince Moqren bin Abdul Aziz bin Saud, 69, as heir and replaced him with Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, 55, who led a crackdown on Al-Qaeda in the oil-rich kingdom a decade ago.
Riyadh also changed its foreign minister in the second major government shakeup since King Salman inherited power in January.
The announcement comes a day after Saudi Arabia said it arrested 93 jihadists since the end of 2014, most of them linked to the Islamic State group, and had foiled several plots to carry out attacks across the kingdom.
"He's pretty much assured now to become the next king," a Western diplomatic source said of Mohammed bin Nayef, asking for anonymity.
"It's a historical shift really. It's real generational change."
Accentuating the move to a more youthful leadership, Salman, 79, also promoted one of his sons, Mohammed bin Salman, to be deputy crown prince.
Mohammed bin Salman, in his early 30s, retains the position of defence minister, in which he has overseen more than a month of air strikes against Iran-backed rebels in neighbouring Yemen.
Saudi Arabia's envoy to the United States, Adel Al Jubeir, 53, was appointed foreign minister.
He replaces Prince Saud Al Faisal who was born in 1940 and "asked to be relieved from his duties due to his health condition," said a royal decree carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
The dismissal of Moqren removes one of the few remaining high-level officials from the era of King Abdullah, who died on January 23 and was replaced by King Salman, 79.
Moqren would have been the last son of the kingdom's founder, Abdul Aziz bin Saud, to rule the country established in 1932.
It was the first time a crown prince was relieved of his duty in the kingdom's history.
Moqren's removal leaves Mohammed bin Nayef as the first of the second generation, or grandsons of Abdul Aziz, in line to lead the kingdom.
AFP
