King Salman announced sweeping changes to Saudi Arabia’s cabinet on Thursday as he ordered his first shake-up of the kingdom’s power structures since the killing of Jamal Khashoggi.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman retains his wide-ranging powers. But the reshuffle is likely to be viewed as the king attempting to “clean house” and send a signal to the international community that it has responded to the crisis that followed the journalist’s death in October, experts say.
Significant changes included the appointment of Musaad al-Aiban as national security adviser, a move that revived a previously dormant post, and the naming of former finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf as foreign minister. The ministers of the powerful national guard, media and education divisions were also replaced as the king issued a series of royal decrees.