King Salman wanted to make this change two years ago, but the conditions for this were not ripe at that time and it would have been difficult to pass such a decision in the Oath Council / Wang Bo / Zuma / TASS

Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Wednesday named his 31-year-old son Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud as the first heir to the throne. The decision of the 81-year-old monarch, who ascended to the throne two years ago, was supported by 31 of the 34 members of the Allegiance Council, which includes senior princes of the Saud dynasty. Before that, the first in line was the king's nephew, 58-year-old Mohammed bin Nayef, who previously headed the Interior Ministry and was deputy prime minister.

The new crown prince was previously responsible for defense, oil, and economic affairs, and promised to diversify the economy and wean the country off oil. His reform program includes an IPO of the national oil company Saudi Aramco. He met with US President Donald Trump in Washington in March, whose first foreign tour later began in Saudi Arabia. Relations between the two countries cooled under President Barack Obama due to the US signing of a nuclear deal with Iran, the Saudis' main adversary. The new crown prince also takes an uncompromising stance toward Iran.

Preparations for the change in the succession order have been underway since April, when several young members of the dynasty loyal to the current crown prince were appointed to key security and diplomatic posts to replace supporters of the king's nephew.

King Salman wanted to make this replacement two years ago, but the conditions for this were not ripe at that time and it would have been difficult to pass such a decision in the Oath Council, explains former Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Andrei Baklanov. In addition, Mohammed bin Salman has become seasoned in negotiations during this time and received new powers that helped him outplay his competitor, the diplomat continues: “This appointment fits in perfectly with the logic of the development of the domestic political situation, Mohammed bin Nayef was a representative of another branch, and the line of succession is now built exactly vertically, from father to son - previously the throne passed from the elder brother to the younger one.” Significant changes in Saudi Arabia's foreign policy should not be expected, because the new crown prince was already negotiator No. 2 after the king, this was evident in his meetings with both Trump and the Russian leadership, Baklanov summarizes.

The king changed his heir