King Salman

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (born 31 December 1935) acceded to the Saudi throne on 23 January 2015 following the death of his half-brother King Abdullah. A son of the kingdom's founder, Ibn Saud, he previously served as Governor of Riyadh Province for roughly five decades (1963–2011) and as Minister of Defense from 2011, before being named Crown Prince in 2012.

Early in his reign, Salman restructured the royal succession and consolidated executive power around his son Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), whom he appointed Deputy Crown Prince in 2015 and elevated to Crown Prince in June 2017, displacing Muhammad bin Nayef. He also created the Council of Economic and Development Affairs and the Council of Political and Security Affairs, reorganizing how policy is coordinated within the royal court.

His reign has been defined by several high-profile decisions:

• The launch of Operation Decisive Storm in March 2015, beginning the Saudi-led coalition's military intervention in Yemen against the Houthis.
• Endorsement of Vision 2030, the economic diversification program unveiled by MbS in April 2016.
• The 2017–2021 diplomatic and economic blockade of Qatar, joined with the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt, lifted by the Al-Ula Declaration in January 2021.
• The November 2017 anti-corruption detentions at the Ritz-Carlton Riyadh.
• The October 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which drew sustained international scrutiny of the royal court.
• The March 2023 China-brokered restoration of diplomatic relations with Iran.

Although MbS has assumed day-to-day governance—formally becoming Prime Minister in September 2022—Salman remains head of state, signs major royal decrees, and represents the kingdom in formal correspondence with foreign heads of state. He chairs the Council of Ministers when present and retains ultimate constitutional authority under the 1992 Basic Law of Governance.