Mohammed bin Salman Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
(CNN) — Here is a look at the life of Mohammed bin Salman, crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia.
Personal
Birth date: August 31, 1985
Birth place: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Birth name: Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
Father: King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
Mother: Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan
Marriage: Sara bint Mashour bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 2008-present
Children: Three sons and two daughters
Education: King Saud University, B.A. in law, 2007
Religion: Wahhabism (a conservative Islamic sect)
Other Facts
Known widely by his initials MBS.
MBS is the eldest son born to King Salman and his third wife.
Following his graduation in 2007, MBS worked for the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers, a Saudi advisory body.
Timeline
2009 – Becomes a formal adviser to his father, then-governor of Riyadh.
2011 – Establishes the MiSK Foundation, a nonprofit “devoted to cultivate and encourage learning and leadership in the youth for a better future in Saudi Arabia.”
March 2013 – Becomes head of the crown prince’s court and special adviser to the crown prince.
April 2014 – Appointed minister of state, a cabinet-level position.
January 23, 2015 – King Abdullah passes away and MBS’s father Salman becomes king of Saudi Arabia. MBS is appointed minister of defense and chief of royal protocol.
March 2015 – A Saudi-led coalition launches airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
April 29, 2015 – MBS is elevated to deputy crown prince and second deputy prime minister.
April 2016 – Unveils his plan, dubbed Vision 2030, to transform the kingdom’s economy by growing the private sector, boosting tourism and reducing unemployment.
June 21, 2017 – King Salman removes his nephew Mohammed bin Nayef as crown prince and formally places MBS first in line to the throne. King Salman also appoints MBS as deputy prime minister.
November 4, 2017 – Princes, high-profile businessmen and government officials are arrested on suspicion of corruption as Saudi Arabia tries to “clean house” with a stunning purge, on orders from a committee led by Crown Prince bin Salman.
June 24, 2018 – A decades-old ban on women drivers in Saudi Arabia is lifted, as part of the reform agenda Vision 2030 spearheaded by MBS. Though weeks prior, a number of Saudi rights activists, including some who played a prominent role in the fight for women’s right to drive, were arrested.
October 2, 2018 – Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident and columnist for the Washington Post who lived in Virginia, vanishes after going inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Turkish authorities later say that Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in the building by a 15-member Saudi team. After first claiming that Khashoggi had left the consulate alive, Saudi officials later admit he was killed on their premises.
September 29, 2019 – Appears on “60 Minutes,” offering a series of denials about human-rights abuses and any personal role in the murder of journalist Khashoggi but says it was carried out by Saudi officials.
February 26, 2021 – A declassified US intelligence report is released that says MBS approved the operation to capture or kill Khashoggi.
July 15, 2022 – US President Joe Biden visits King Salman and Crown Prince bin Salman in Jeddah. Biden indicates to Crown Prince bin Salman that he believes the Crown Prince was to blame for the killing of Khashoggi. MBS denies responsibility.
September 27, 2022 – Is named Saudia Arabia’s prime minister, a post typically held by the king.
November 17, 2022 – A US Justice Department court filing determines MBS should be granted immunity in the 2020 case brought against him by Hatice Cengiz, Khashoggi’s fiancée, and DAWN, the Washington, DC-based human rights organization founded by the late journalist. According to the DOJ and the State Department, the crown prince qualifies for immunity since he was recently made Saudi Arabia’s prime minister and is now the head of government. The case is dismissed on December 6, 2022.
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