麻豆APP

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. Image by U.S. Department of State from United States-

Top 10 Remarquable Facts about Mohammed bin Salman

Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is a Saudi Arabian politician. He is the crown prince, deputy prime minister, and minister of defense of Saudi Arabia. He also serves as the chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and chairman of the Council of Political and Security Affairs.

He was born on August 31^st, 1985. He is the son of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his third wife Fahdah bint Fal膩岣� ibn Sul峁�膩n.

He became interested in governance from a young age. He knew that keeping a clean record of an image was very important. He grew up around dignitaries. He learned how to communicate their language and avoid indiscretions.

He attended King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he graduated with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in law in 2007. He later founded several firms and a non-profit organization intended to promote entrepreneurship in the kingdom. He continued to rise in stature alongside his father.

1. He rose to ranks rapidly thanks to his father

Having a king for a dad has its advantages. Since his father acceded to the throne in January 2015, he has been swiftly appointed to several powerful positions.

He started as the Minister of Defence and was also named Secretary General of the Royal Court. Then he was named the chair of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs and was given control over Saudi Aramco by royal decree.

In June 2017, he was appointed as Crown Prince of the Kingdom following his father鈥檚 decision to remove Prince Muhammad bin Nayef from all positions.

2. Mohammed is pro-change…Or is he?

Deputy Crown Prince, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Photo by U.S. Department of State from United States-

Mohammed had initially created an image as a reformer in the west. His policies began to relax many of the strict social restrictions for which Saudi Arabia was known. In line with his effort to boost tourism in the kingdom, a ban on cinemas was reversed.

Women’s rights were revised. They were allowed to attend sporting events; they needed not to wear an 士ab膩yah, a long black cloak, in public; they could obtain driver鈥檚 licenses and go in public without male accompaniment.

He did not seem to have his people鈥檚 interests at heart. He was more motivated by economic gain. To flip the coin, the government cracked down on women activists who continued to press for more freedom.

3. He threatened a Lebanese Prime Minister

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Image by U.S. Department of State from United States-Wikimedia

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri went on a visit to Riyadh only for him to resign under suspicious circumstances.

Suspicions were raised when it was reflected that Mohammed had cracked a joke, the previous year, about kidnapping Hariri.

Hariri was detained on allegations that he was allegiant to Iran-backed Hezbollah, which is a major political force in Lebanon. International pressure caused him to be allowed his return to Lebanon. He immediately suspended his resignation.

4. Mohammed orchestrated the extrajudicial killing of a prominent journalist

Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi was a prominent journalist and Saudi Arabian dissident. He was assassinated at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October 2018. He had been forced into exile from Saudi Arabia in 2017 because of his criticisms of authoritarian rule and foreign policy.

In October 2018 Mohammed orchestrated his extrajudicial killing. On Mohammed鈥檚 orders, Saudi operatives lured Khashoggi into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, where they tortured and dismembered him.

This raised international concerns about both state sovereignty and human rights. The fallout was contained as the royal family continued to deflect responsibility for the incident, but Mohammed鈥檚 image abroad had been tarnished.

5. Mohammed invitation to the Queen’s funeral was controversial

Photo by on

Due to the extrajudicial killing of Jamal Khashoggi, it came as a rude shock when Mohammed was invited to the Queen鈥檚 funeral.

A declassified CIA report concluded that the crown prince had authorized the murder and dismemberment of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

The Queen had called for him to be arrested if he ever landed in London. This invite caused a public outcry saying that the invite was a stain on the memory of Queen Elizabeth II.

6. Mohammed unveiled Vision 2030

Image by Saudi vision 2030-

As Chairman of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman launched 鈥淰ision 2030鈥�.

This is a comprehensive, multi-year plan for the future of Saudi Arabia. The ambitious plan seeks to revitalize the Saudi economy. This is by bolstering the Kingdom as a global investment powerhouse and moving away from oil dependency as the largest source of national income.

It also seeks to strengthen government efficiency and the promotion of a stable Saudi Arabia that provides an opportunity for all.鈥�

7. Mohammed is very strict on corruption

Photo by on

In 2017, in Saudi Arabia, there was a crackdown against corruption. Mohammed warned against everyone involved in corruption. It did not matter if you were royal or not.

He ordered some 200 wealthy businessmen and princes to be placed under house arrest in Riyadh’s Ritz Carlton hotel. These detainees included prince and billionaire Al-Waleed bin Talal as well as over 40 other princes and government ministers.

They were subjected to beatings and tortures. They were ordered to call their bank managers and ask for large sums of money from offshore accounts.

Banks identified some of the transactions as under duress and were able to stop some of them. These actions were described as coercion, abuse, and torture.

8. His style of ruling is of a dictator

Mohammed rules an authoritarian regime. There are no democratic institutions in Saudi Arabia. Elements of repression are still evident. Human rights activists, women’s rights activists, journalists, former insiders, and dissidents are systematically repressed through tactics including torture, jailing, and killings.

He is said to use a group of assassins known as the Tiger Squad to carry out extrajudicial killings. The regime has targeted Saudi dissidents who are located abroad, most famously Jamal Khashoggi.

He has justified the mass arrests of human rights activists as being as necessary for enacting reforms in Saudi Arabia. He has increasingly consolidated power in Saudi Arabia during his tenure as leader.

9. He is a wife beater

On 6 April 2008 bin Salman married his first cousin Sara bint Mashour, a daughter of his paternal uncle Mashour bin Abdulaziz. They have five children.

He is said to have inherited his mother and father鈥檚 temperament.  His wife has endured frequent beatings and hospitalizations since she wedded him. This domestic violence has not been limited to his wife. He has even detained his mother Fahda.

10. He is rumored to buy a missing painting by Leonardo da Vinci

Salvator Mundi. image attributed to Leonardo da Vinci-

In December 2017, he bought Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. The sale at $450.3 million set a new record price for a work of art.

The whereabouts of the work were not known until, in 2019, the art industry news service Artnet reported that the 500-year-old painting was being kept on Mohammed bin Salman鈥檚 440-foot super yacht, Serene.

Scientific analysis by three experts at the Louvre in 麻豆APP concluded that the painting could have been a fake. They claimed that it was produced in Leonardo鈥檚 workshop but not by the Renaissance master himself.

The Louvre historians had intended to publish their findings but were prevented from doing so when he declined to loan them for the blockbuster Leonardo exhibition in 2019.