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Saudi Arabia's King Salman has made his son next in line to the throne, handing the 31-year-old sweeping powers as the kingdom seeks radical overhaul of its oil-dependent economy and faces mounting tensions with regional rival Iran.
Mohammed bin Salman replaces his cousin, Mohammed bin Nayef, a veteran security chief who led the Saudi campaign against Islamic State and Al Qaeda at a time when Riyadh faced heightened tensions with Qatar and Iran and was locked into a war in Yemen.
A favourite son of his elderly father, Prince Mohammed bin Salman's youth and dynamism have also appealed to many younger Saudis, who constitute the biggest proportion of society and are often eager for change.
He is currently Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister, giving him command of one of the world's biggest arms budgets and making him ultimately responsible for Saudi Arabia's military adventure in Yemen.
Prince Mohammed has led diplomacy with global powers, reportedly charming both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He was appointed Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister by royal decree and will remain in charge of the defence, oil and economy portfolios.
The previous crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, the king's nephew and a counter-terrorism chief admired in Washington for putting down an Al Qaeda campaign of bombings in 2003-06, was relieved of all his posts, according to the decree.
Throughout the early morning Saudi television aired footage of Mohammed bin Nayef pledging allegiance to the younger Prince Mohammed, who knelt and kissed his cousin's hand.
"I am content," Mohammed bin Nayef said.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman replied: "We will not give up taking your guidance and advice."
Analysts said the change ended uncertainty over succession and empowered Prince Mohammed to move faster with his plan to reduce the kingdom's dependence on oil, which includes the partial privatisation of state oil company Aramco.
"The change is a huge boost to the economic reform programme … Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is its architect," said John Sfakianakis, director of the Gulf Research Centre.
After Prince Mohammed's elevation was announced, Saudi Arabia's stock market surged more than 3 per cent in early trade.
"Some people were predicting that this would lead to a division in the family and strife and some kind of revolt. I don't see that happening," Mr Haykel said.
Iran, Saudi Arabia's main rival for regional influence, called Prince Mohammed's appointment a "soft coup".
Iran's leadership was critical of comments by Prince Mohammed last month that the "battle" should be taken into Iran, with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei labelling the Saudi leadership then as "idiots".
Reuters
Topics: world-politics, government-and-politics, foreign-affairs, saudi-arabia