Few had heard of Mohammed bin Salman al Saud outside of Saudi Arabia before his father became King in 2015. Today, he actually rules the country, the world's largest oil exporter.
After the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the eyes of the whole world were turned to this name. There were also calls that King Salman bin Abdulaziz should consider choosing another Crown Prince. But it didn't. The Crown Prince's power has grown even more!
Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia.
Crown Prince Mohammed received applause from Western leaders for bringing some reforms to the richest country in the Gulf. Among his reforms were lifting the ban on driving for women, and opening the doors to cinema and entertainment culture.
But it has been heavily criticized for its war in neighboring Yemen, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe. The diplomatic conflict he started with Qatar divided the Gulf Cooperation Council. He also attempted to silence dissenting voices.
Mohammed bin Salman was born on August 31, 1985. He is the eldest son of Fahdah bin Falah bin Sultan, the third wife of King Salman, who was then Prince.
He has only one wife and two daughters and two sons.
Unlike most Saudi princes, he completed his education in Saudi Arabia.
After completing his law studies at King Saud University in the capital Riyadh, he worked in a number of organizations.
In 2009, he was appointed as the special adviser to his father, who was then the Governor of Riyadh.
Mohammed bin Salman's ascent to power began in 2013 when he was appointed Chairman of the Crown Court.
In January 2015, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died and Salman took the throne at the age of 79.
As soon as the new king came to the throne, he made two decisions that surprised observers.
The first was to make his son Mohammed bin Salman minister of defense. Prince Mohammed became the world's youngest defense minister at the age of 29.
The second was to declare his nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef, the crown prince. Mohammed bin Nayef was the first grandchild of the country's founder, Ibn Saud, to be nominated to the throne.
Prince Mohammed was also appointed as the Crown Prince's deputy.
All these changes paved the way for him to be second in line to the throne when Mohammed bin Nayef was removed.
One of Mohammed bin Salman's first acts as defense minister was military action in March 2015, after Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, whom Iran sees as satellites, took control of the capital Sana'a and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi into exile. was to start.
The operation against Yemen did not achieve much success in 3.5 years. There were war crimes against Saudi Arabia and its allies, and the people of Yemen were left alone with famine.
In 2015, Prince Mohammed was also named deputy prime minister and chairman of the Economic and Development Council.
In 2016, Mohammed bin Salman announced an ambitious plan to transform the kingdom economically and socially and to end its "addiction" to oil.
The Vision 2030 plan aims to increase non-oil revenues to 600 billion riyals ($160 billion) by 2020 and 1 trillion riyals ($267 billion) by 2030.
In 2015, the country's non-oil revenue was 163.5 billion riyals.
Mohammed bin Salman said this plan would allow the Saudi people to "live without oil".
The IMF described the plan as "an ambitious, far-reaching effort" but warned that its implementation would present difficulties.
The prince also announced that he wants to create the world's largest wealth fund of $3 trillion, adding the proceeds from the public offering of state oil company Aramco.
Prince Mohammed also led the decision to boycott Qatar in June 2017, which Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt accused of supporting terrorism and interfering in the internal affairs of neighboring countries.
Qatar denied the allegations and turned down a list of requests to re-establish diplomatic and trade relations.
In June 2017, King Salman put an end to months of speculation when he announced his son as crown prince to replace Mohammed bin Nayef.
Mohammed bin Nayef was also removed from the Ministry of Interior, putting his security forces under the control of the royal palace and his cousin, allegedly placing the former crown prince under house arrest.
Mohammed bin Salman was gradually gathering power in his hands.
In September, a wave of detentions was launched against high-ranking opponents of the crown prince's policies. More than 20 influential religious scholars and intellectuals "who are said to be acting on behalf of foreign powers" were detained.
In the same month, when King Salman announced that the ban on women's driving would be lifted in June 2018, despite the opposition of the conservatives, it was rumored that Prince Mohammed was behind this decision.
In October, Prince Mohammed announced his plans to modernize the kingdom, declaring that "returning to moderate Islam" is one of the most important steps.
Salman said, "We will go back to where we used to be. We will be a moderate Islamic country open to the world and to all religions. We will end radicalism very soon."
Mohammed bin Salman announced that a mega city called 'NEOM' will be established on the Red Sea coast with an investment of 500 billion dollars to stimulate the economy. (As of 2022, steps have been taken to establish that city.)