Tuesday 27th September 2022 marked a historic moment for the kingdom of Saudi Arabia as King Salman appointed Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, the position of prime minister.
Prince Khalid bin Salman was also appointed defense minister in a Cabinet reshuffle by royal decree.
Mohammed Bin Salman was the previous defense minister, with Prince Khalid as deputy defense minister. Following these changes, King Salman will continue to chair Cabinet meetings that he attends, according to the decree.
Newly appointed defense minister, Prince Khalid, is a former Saudi ambassador to Washington. Having graduated from the King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force. He had obtained his initial pilot training at the Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, and advanced training at Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, as well as studying Advanced Electronic Warfare in France.
Prior to having suffered a back injury that ended his career as a pilot, Prince Khalid was an F-15 pilot and tactical intelligence officer in the RSAF. He had flown over 50 combat missions as part of the international coalition campaign against Daesh in Syria, and the Decisive Storm and Renewal of Hope operations in Yemen.
Another significant appointment made was that of Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Bunyan, chief executive of the Saudi chemical manufacturing company SABIC, as minister of education.
Ministers who retain their positions are the Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Minister of Investment Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud, and Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan.
Prince Abdullah bin Bandar maintains his position as Minister of the National Guard, Walid Al-Samaani also retains his role as Minister of Justice, and Abdullatif bin Abdulaziz Al Al-Sheikh as Minister of Islamic Affairs.
Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan remains Minister of Culture, and Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal as Minister of Sports. Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah will also stay in his role as Minister of Hajj and Umrah, and Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi also remains as Minister of Commerce.
Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef remains as Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Ahmed Al-Khateeb as Minister of Tourism, Faisal bin Fadhil Alibrahim as Minister of Economy and Planning, and Fahd bin Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel as Minister of Health.
