Mohammed bin Salman

Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, commonly referred to as MBS, is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and, since September 2022, its Prime Minister. Born in 1985, he is the son of King Salman bin Abdulaziz and has functioned as the country's de facto ruler since his father's accession in 2015. He was named Crown Prince in June 2017 after the removal of his cousin Muhammad bin Nayef.

MBS launched Vision 2030 in 2016, a long-term plan to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil dependence through tourism, entertainment, mining, and megaprojects such as NEOM and The Line on the Red Sea coast. Domestically, he has overseen significant social liberalization, including lifting the ban on women driving in 2018, reopening cinemas, and curbing the powers of the religious police. He has simultaneously concentrated political power, most visibly through the November 2017 detention of princes and businessmen at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh under an anti-corruption campaign.

In foreign policy, MBS launched the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen against the Houthis in March 2015 while serving as Defense Minister, and led the 2017–2021 diplomatic and economic blockade of Qatar. His international standing was severely damaged by the October 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul; a 2021 U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence report assessed that he approved the operation, which he denies ordering. More recently he has pursued regional de-escalation, including the China-brokered restoration of diplomatic ties with Iran in March 2023, and has positioned Saudi Arabia as a mediator in conflicts including Russia-Ukraine prisoner exchanges.

He chairs the Public Investment Fund (PIF), which has become one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds and a major investor in global sports, technology, and entertainment.