Mohammed bin Salman

Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; born 31 August 1985) is currently the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, first deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. He is the youngest minister of defense in the world. He was named the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia in September 2022. Mohammed is also chief of the House of Saud. He is the leader of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs. He is sometimes described as the power behind the throne of his father, King Salman.Transcript: Interview with Muhammad bin Salman The Economist, 6 January 2016.

Mohammed bin Salman was appointed Crown Prince in June 2017. Muhammad bin Nayef removed himself from all positions. It made Mohammad the heir apparent to the throne. Mohammed has brought a series of social and economic changes since he was appointed in 2017. He lowered the power of the Wahhabi religious group by controlling the powers of the religious police and making women's rights better. He got rid of the ban on female drivers in 2018. He weakened the male-guardianship system in 2019. His Saudi Vision 2030 program aims to reduce the economy's reliance on oil. He wants to do this by investing in non-oil sectors like technology and tourism. The economy still depends on oil. 

Mohammed's international image is complex. Some in the Western world think he is good for the modernization of Saudi Arabia. They agree with the big plans for the kingdom, like the 2030 Vision. They also think he is a human rights violator. In foreign politics, Mohammed led the Saudi participation in the war in Yemen and made closer relations with Russia, China and Iran.

 Local politics 

 2030 vision 
Mohammed announced the launch of Vision 2030 on April 25, 2016. It is a big part of Saudi Arabia's plan to have economic growth. It specifically decreases oil as a main source of money. It also wants economic developments in a lot of different areas.  The vision was built around a vibrant society, a strong economy, and an ambitious nation.

The 2030 Vision is about making a society where the citizens have a good quality of life. The plan wants to do this by making the healthcare, education, and social services better.

The 2030 vision also wants to make a strong and growing economy for the kingdom. It wants to do this by having a lot of different economic areas. It will also make tourism and technology better for the country.

The 2030 vision is about making Saudi Arabia an important country in the world. It will do this by raising Saudi Arabia as a leader in things like energy, finance, and culture. The country wil also work with other nations to deal with global challenges.

Modernization
Mohammad bin Salman thinks Saudi Arabia should adopt a moderate kind of Islam.  He gave a television speech about it on Ramadan. Bin Salman said that Islam in Saudi Arabia’s harsh views stops his plans for modernization.  He also likes events that used to be considered bad. Some of these are live music performances, festival, and sports competitions. 

Human Rights
Hundreds of citizens have been arrested in the kingdom since 2017. Some of these are social media influencers, journalists, clerics, and tycoons. A few of bin Salman’s cousins were also arrested. 

Seven activists were arrested in May 2018, including Eman al-Nafjan and Loujain al-Hathloul. Human Rights Watch claimed bin Salman is responsible for the arrests. They also say he is spreading fear to those who don't like his agendas. 

bin Salman was accused of being a part of killing of The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.  A lot of countries really didn't like it. He later talked to the American Television program 60 Minutes and said it wasn't true. 

 Foreign politics 

 War in Yemen 

 Background 
Mohammad bin Salman wants the Kingdom to be more important in the region. He started to show this power against Iran and the war in Yemen. The Houthis conquered the Yemeni capital Sana’a in September 2014. This made President Hadi leave the country. The Saudis led the group of Arab states to bring him back to power. Hadi used article 51 of the UN Charter to ask for help. The Houthis are close with Iran, who is Saudi Arabia’s rival in the region. Saudi Arabia led the Arab group. It had Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Sudan and Morocco. Only Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are still really included in the conflict.

 Course of the war 
The Saudis thought it would be a quick invasion, but they learned that it would not be easy. Under President Obama the US agreed with the Arab states but did not help them. The US helped more under President Trump. The Houthis and Iran were not allies before the invasion. They became very good friends because of the war. Iran wanted the war to end because it would make them stronger. The Saudis stayed in the war even though it was expensive.  The Saudis are bombing north Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates help the group in south Yemen. As of 2023, the Saudis and Houthis are talking about peace. They are getting closer to ending the war.

 Relations with great/regional powers 

 Russia 
Under bin Salman rule Saudi Arabia and Russia are allies in the OPEC+, Saudi Arabia is also investing in Russia, this also leads to better relations between the two. This relation has not changed since the 2022 conflict in Ukraine, with $500 million being invested in Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil after the conflict had already started even though western countries put sanctions on these companies.

 United States of America 

 Under President Trump 
When President Trump got to power the relations between the US and Saudi Arabia were bad, President Obama had pressured Saudi Arabia for diplomacy with Iran and to rely less on the US for defense. President Trump was just like Mohammed in its view of Iran as the greatest danger in the Middle East, and also disagreed with Obama’s policy in the Middle East. President Trump let other countries do their internal affairs without pressuring on human rights for example, which is convenient for Mohammed as human rights or not very good in Saudi Arabia. As President Trump saw Iran as the biggest danger in the Middle East he saw the Houthis as Iranian puppets and thus supported and assisted the Saudi invasion. President Trump also spread confusion about the CIA report on the killing of Kashoggi about him doubting if Mohammed really gave the order to kill and sold weapons to Saudi Arabia.

 Under President Biden 
When President Biden was still campaigning for president he said he would treat the bin Salman as the pariah Biden called bin Salman because of the poor human rights situation, and the killing of journalist Kashoggi. One of President Biden's first acts as president was releasing the CIA report that blamed bin Salman of giving the order to kill Kashoggi, and before the report was published, President Biden called with King Salman saying he is the King and official leader of the country and not bin Salman, the Saudis rejected the report. Biden also paused the sale of ammunition to the Saudi Arabia any more lowering relations with Saudi Arabia. In 2022 and 2023 the OPEC started producing less oil leading to bad reactions from the Biden administration.

 China 
The relations between Saudi Arabia and China are good as China is Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner and with large investments such as an Aramco joint venture of $10 billion and 35 other investments worth $28 billion in total. China did not blame Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of Khashoggi and for the human suffering in Yemen and Saudi Arabia stays silent or says China has the right to defend itself or to fight ‘terrorism’ as the way China treats its Muslim Uighur minority. That Saudi Arabia’s relation with China is good was also visible in the diplomatic deal that Saudi Arabia made with Iran in talks in China.

 Iran 
After the Iranian revolution in 1979, a rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the leadership over the Islamic world emerged, and after Iran tried to export revolution over the region Saudi Arabia feared a revolution. It led to a rivalry but in 2011 this rivalry became much harder as uprising in the region led to the two supporting opposite sides in conflicts. In 2016 after a Shi’ite cleric Sheik Nimr al-Nimr was executed by Saudi Arabia after demonstrations and the storming of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran by protesters, this led to the cut of diplomatic ties between the two. In 2023 an unexpected deal between the two was signed after diplomatic talks hosted by China, in which they would again open their embassies, bin Salman likely made this deal to support his Vision 2030 and the relation with Iran was an obstacle for foreign investment.

References

Other websites

Category:1985 births
Category:Living people
Category:House of Saud
Category:Princes and princesses
Category:Prime ministers of Saudi Arabia