Saudi Arabia is seeing a lot positive changes—economic and political. And the young Saudi prince might be solely responsible!
Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman holds extraordinary power for a man of just 30—he has even been nicknamed “Mr Everything”.
He unveiled an immense plan on Monday to restructure the kingdom’s oil-dependent economy.
The son of King Salman has risen to become one of Saudi Arabia’s most influential figures since being named second in line to the throne last year.
Mohammed, seen as the face of a new generation of Saudi royals, is in charge not only of the country’s economic policy but also the military.
“The prince has amassed extraordinary power and influence very quickly since his father took the throne last year after the death of King Abdullah,” said Frederic Wehrey of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington according to NDTV reports.
“He’s clearly very bright, very intelligent, very on top of all his briefs and has significant influence on the 80-year-old monarch,” NDTV quoted a Western diplomat.
Mohammed also chairs a body overseeing the state oil giant Saudi Aramco. As the defence minister, he had spearheaded the kingdom’s military intervention in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes against Iran-backed rebels in support of the unstable government.
According to an interview released earlier this month by Bloomberg Businessweek, Mohammed works 16 hours a day and draws his inspiration from Winston Churchill and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War.
In the latest interview, the Prince spoke at length about the economic plans for the kingdom—which was surprising as Saudi officials are traditionally tight-lipped about most plans.
A law graduate from Riyadh’s King Saud University, Mohammed is the father of two boys and two girls and unlike other members of the royal family he has only married once.
He told Bloomberg that even though Islam allows for multiple marriages modern life does not leave the time.
Mohammed has been extra cautious to not challenge Saudi Arabia’s conservative traditions and powerful clerics. But some in the country hope that he will be the social reformer that the country needs so badly.
