Saudi king appointed crown prince as prime minister

King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia appointed his second son Prince Khalid as defense minister and his heir apparent Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the country’s prime minister, according to a royal proclamation released on Tuesday.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, another son, was retained as energy minister, according to the royal edict, which was reported by the official state news agency SPA.

The proclamation revealed that the positions of Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan, and Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih remained unaltered.