Muhammad bin Nayef

Muhammad bin Nayef
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
First Deputy Prime Minister
Minister of Ministry of Interior
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
First Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
In office 29 April 2015 – present
Predecessor Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
Monarch King Salman
Minister of Interior
In office 5 November 2012 – present
Predecessor Ahmed bin Abdulaziz
Monarch Abdullah
Salman
Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
In Office 23 January 2015 — 29 April 2015
Predecessor Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
Successor Mohammad bin Salman
Monarch Salman
Born (1959-08-30) 30 August 1959
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Spouse Reema bint Sultan Al Saud
Full name
Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Saud
House House of Saud
Father Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Mother Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jiluwi
Religion Islam

Muhammad[1] bin Nayef[2] bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: محمد بن نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎‎; born 30 August 1959) is the Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior of Saudi Arabia.[3] He is also the chairman of the new Council for Political and Security Affairs.[4] On 29 April 2015, bin Nayef was appointed heir apparent by King Salman. As Crown Prince, he is first in line to the throne of Saudi Arabia. He is a member of the House of Saud and a nephew of King Salman.[5] If he ascends to the throne, as a grandson of King Abdulaziz he will be the first king of the third generation in Saudi Arabia.

Early life and education

Prince Muhammad was born in Jeddah on 30 August 1959.[6][7] He is the second eldest son and one of ten children of Prince Nayef.[8][9] Prince Saud is his elder brother and Prince Fahd is his younger brother.[10] Their mother is Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed Al Jiluwi[9][11] who is a member of the Al Jiluwi branch of the House of Saud.[12]

Muhammad bin Nayef studied in the United States.[13] He took courses at Lewis & Clark College but did not receive a degree.[14] He attended the FBI's security courses from 1985 to 1988, and was trained at Scotland Yard's anti-terrorism units from 1992 to 1994.[8]

Career

Muhammad bin Nayef with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, 16 January 2013

Muhammad bin Nayef was appointed assistant interior minister for security affairs in 1999. He had been a businessman before this appointment.[15] He was widely credited for the success of the Ministry's counter-terrorism program.[16] He was also regarded as the architect of the government's counter-insurgency program.[17] He also served as the director of civil defense during his term as assistant minister.[18] He was considered to be an effective assistant interior minister.[19]

In 2004, he was appointed to the rank of minister, becoming number two at the ministry of interior.[8] In October 2010, he warned the U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser of the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot.[20][21] After the appointment of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as interior minister upon the death of Prince Nayef in July 2012, Prince Muhammad became deputy interior minister.[5][22]

In November 2009, King Abdullah appointed Muhammad as a member of the influential Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia.[23] This move was regarded as approval of the increase in then-Crown Prince Nayef's power by King Abdullah.[24] On the other hand, this appointment enables Prince Muhammad to extend his influence over the government's economy policy.[25]

On 5 November 2012, King Abdullah issued a royal decree and dismissed Prince Ahmed, minister of interior, from his office and appointed Prince Muhammad as minister.[5] He became the tenth interior minister of Saudi Arabia.[26] Prince Muhammad took the oath of office in front of King Abdullah on 6 November 2012.[27] His appointment was not regarded very positively by human rights activists due to Prince Muhammad's professional experience as a tough enforcer who imprisoned thousands of suspected troublemakers in Saudi Arabia.[28] However, he is regarded as less corrupt and less likely to personally abuse his power in comparison to other senior princes of his generation.[28]

Prince Muhammad met with David Cameron, British Premier, in January 2013.[29] Then he met with U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C., on 14 January 2013.[30] They discussed issues of security and regional developments.[30] In late January 2013, interior minister Prince Muhammad announced that Saudi women would be allowed to work at the directorate.[31]

In February 2014, Prince Muhammad was made responsible for Syria, replacing Bandar bin Sultan, then intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia.[32] Muhammad was assisted in this effort by Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, the minister of the Saudi Arabian National Guard.[33]

Deputy Crown Prince

On 23 January 2015 it was announced that King Salman had appointed Muhammad bin Nayef as deputy crown prince.[34][35] The announcement reportedly helped calm fears of dynastic instability over the line of succession.[36] Thus, Prince Muhammad became the first of his generation to be officially in line for the throne.

In addition to his other posts Prince Muhammad was named the chair of the Council for Political and Security Affairs which was established on 29 January 2015.[35]

Crown Prince

Crown Prince Muhammad with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, 6 May 2015

On 29 April 2015 Muhammad bin Nayef was named Crown Prince, replacing Muqrin bin Abdulaziz in the post.[37]

War in Yemen

As chair of the Council for Political and Security Affairs, the Prince has been a leading commander of Operation Decisive Storm, the first major Saudi military operation of the 21st century.

Views

Muhammad bin Nayef, unlike most of the royal family, actively talks to the media.[38] Concerning the struggle against terrorism, he adopts a policy of the iron fist like his father, Prince Nayef.[25] He, and other decision-making elites, believe terrorism must be treated as a form of crime and fought with ruthless policing methods.[39] Walid Jumblatt described Muhammad bin Nayef as the Saudi equivalent of General Ashraf Rifi, former director-general of Lebanon's Internal Security Forces.[40]

Muhammad bin Nayef was commended by Western intelligence agencies for Saudi Arabia's counterterrorism programs.[38] He called for a "security channel" with the United States to facilitate information exchange. He firmly supported U.S. President Barack Obama in his opposition to the release of detainee interrogation photographs. He thought that Yemen was a "dangerous failed state" and becoming a serious threat to Saudi Arabia. He further believed that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was losing control. He suggested a strategy of directly working with Yemeni tribes, condemning terrorism.[41]

He praised General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani as a "good man". He voiced his concerns concerning Iran’s nuclear program. He defers foreign policy issues to the King.[42] After his appointment as interior minister, U.S. diplomats argued that he is "the most pro-American minister in the Saudi Cabinet".[43]

Influence

The Economist described Prince Muhammad as energetic and low-key, and stated that he was one of the candidates for the throne when the line of succession passes to the grandsons of King Abdulaziz.[44] He was also considered to be one of the possible contenders after his father's death in June 2012.[45][46] In 2011, Michael Hayden reported that Prince Muhammad was the world's fifth most powerful defender.[47] On 4 March 2016, Muhammad bin Nayef was decorated with the French Legion of Honour by French president François Hollande.[48] In April 2016 Prince Muhammad was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential People.[49]

Assassination attempts

Muhammad bin Nayef escaped four assassination attempts. He was slightly injured in the third attempt, and unhurt in the others.[50]

The third attempt was on 27 August 2009.[50] Muhammad bin Nayef was slightly injured by Abdullah Hassan Al Aseery (Al Asiri), a suicide bomber linked to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Al Aseery spoke to Muhammad bin Nayef a few days prior to the bombing and expressed a desire to turn himself in as part of the country's terrorist rehabilitation program. This was an apparent plot to get admitted to the Prince's palace.[51] Al Aseery is believed to have traveled to Jeddah from Yemen's province, Marib. During Ramadan, Al Aseery waited in line at the Prince's Jeddah home as a "well-wisher". He exploded a suicide bomb, killing himself, but only slightly injuring Muhammad bin Nayef, who was protected from the full force of the blast by Al Aseery's body.[52][53] Muhammad bin Nayef appeared on state television with a bandage around two of his fingers on his left hand. He stated, "I did not want him to be searched, but he surprised me by blowing himself up. However, this will only increase my determination to fight terrorism in the kingdom".[54] In the attack, Al Aseery used an explosive device hidden inside his rectum.[55] These are commonly known as a surgically implanted improvised explosive device, or as a 'Body Cavity Bomb' (BCB).[56]

This was the first assassination attempt against a royal family member since 2003, when Saudi Arabia faced a sharp uptick in Al Qaeda-linked attacks.[57][58] The last assassination attempt against Prince Muhammad was in August 2010.[50]

Personal life

Muhammad bin Nayef is the son-in-law of and also the full nephew of Sultan bin Abdulaziz. He is also full-nephew of King Fahd and King Salman.[44] He is married to Reema bint Sultan Al Saud, his full first cousin, and they have two daughters.[59]

In April 2016, Muhammad bin Nayef was implicated in the Panama Papers leaks.[60]

Ancestry

References

  1. ↑ Also spelled Mohammed.
  2. ↑ Also spelled Naif.
  3. ↑ "Saudi King Salman resolves succession by appointing nephew". The Daily Star. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Massive Cabinet shake-up". 30 January 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Saudi Arabia's king appoints new interior minister". BBC. 5 November 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Council of Ministers: Membership". Royal Embassy, Washington DC. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Biography of Prince Mohammed bin Naif
  8. 1 2 3 Stig Stenslie (21 August 2012). Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia: The Challenge of Succession. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-136-51157-8. Retrieved 7 December 2012.
  9. 1 2 Caryle Murphy (5 June 2008). "The heir apparent". Global Post. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  10. ↑ "Saudi king names new governor for restive oil region". Reuters. Jeddah. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  11. ↑ "Family Tree of Nayif bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud". Datarabia. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  12. ↑ Joshua Teitelbaum (1 November 2011). "Saudi succession and stability" (PDF). BESA Center. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "Prince Muhammad escapes assassination attempt". SUSRIS. Arab News. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  14. ↑ So This Saudi Prince didn’t Actually Graduate From Lewis & Clark College Time. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
  15. ↑ Caryle Murphy (10 September 2010). "In Saudi Arabia. A softer approach to fighting terror". Global Post. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  16. ↑ "Saudi Succession Developments" (PDF). Foreign Reports Inc. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  17. ↑ Joshua Teitelbaum (8 December 2010). "King Abdullah's Illness and the Saudi Succession". Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  18. ↑ "CDO Grants Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Medal of Commander". Gulf in the Media. Riyadh. Saudi Press Agency. 4 October 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  19. ↑ Christopher M. Davidson (21 February 2011). "Lords of the Realm". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  20. ↑ Mark Mazzetti; Robert F. Worth (30 October 2010). "U.S. Sees Complexity of Bombs as Link to Al Qaeda". The New York Times.
  21. ↑ Jeremy M. Sharp (3 March 2011). "Yemen: Background and U.S. Relations" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  22. ↑ "Changes in Saudi Arabia and Syria". Middle East In Focus. Commentary. 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  23. ↑ "Royal Decree to add Prince Saud Al Faisal, Prince Mohammed bin Naif". Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Supreme Economic Council. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  24. ↑ Anne-Beatrice Clasmann (20 November 2009). "Discreetly, Saudis speculate about the throne succession". M&C News. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  25. 1 2 "The Al Saud succession challenge". AMEinfo. 17 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  26. ↑ "Profile: Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif". Asharq Alawsat. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  27. ↑ "Prince Muhammad takes oath of office". MENAFN. Arab News. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  28. 1 2 "The younger generation, at last?". The Economist. 10 November 2012. Retrieved 8 December 2012.
  29. ↑ Simon Henderson (14 January 2013). "Leadership Change in Oil-Rich Saudi Province". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  30. 1 2 "Obama's Meeting with Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Nayef" (Press Release). US Office of the Press Secretary. Washington DC. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  31. ↑ "Saudi women allowed to work for intelligence agency". Al Akhbar. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  32. ↑ Thomas W. Lippman (16 April 2014). "Saudi Intel Chief Prince Bandar Is Out, But Is He Really Out?". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  33. ↑ Simon Henderson (21 February 2014). "Saudi Arabia's Domestic and Foreign Intelligence Challenges". Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
  34. ↑ "New Saudi Deputy Crown Prince marks generational shift". Reuters. Retrieved 23 January 2014.
  35. 1 2 Simeon Kerr (30 January 2015). "Saudi king stamps his authority with staff shake-up and handouts". Financial Times. Riyadh. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  36. ↑ "Saudi Arabia acts fast on succession after king's death". MSN. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  37. ↑ "Saudi king replaces crown prince in cabinet reshuffle". Al Jazeera. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
  38. 1 2 "Saudi Arabia's ambitious Al Qaida fighter". MSNBC. 11 July 2005. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  39. ↑ Amir Taheri (2004). "Saudi Arabia: Between Terror and Reform" (PDF). American Foreign Policy Interests: 457–465. doi:10.1080/10803920490905523. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  40. ↑ "Jumbulatt recounts Suadi trip, Money problems, Syrian threats". Al Akhbar. 11 July 2006.
  41. ↑ "Special Advisor Holbrooke's' meeting with Saudis". Wikileaks. 17 May 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  42. ↑ "Saudi Arabia: General Jones". Wikileaks. 19 January 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  43. ↑ "Obama meets pro-U.S. young Turk in aging Saudi cabinet". World Tribune. Washington. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  44. 1 2 "Time, surely, for a much younger one". The Economist. 29 October 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2012.
  45. ↑ Abdullah Al Shihri; Brian Murphy (17 June 2012). "Death of Saudi prince moves younger generation toward crown". Times Colonist. AP. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  46. ↑ Thomas W. Lippman (16 June 2012). "Saudi Arabia Moves Closer to A New Generation of Leaders". Al Monitor. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  47. ↑ "Michael Hayden: The World's 7 Most Powerful Defenders And Offenders". Forbes. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  48. ↑ "France awards Legion d'Honneur to Saudi prince 'for terror fight'". The Guardian.
  49. ↑ "Relentless campaign against Al-Qaeda gets crown prince Time honor". Arab News. Jeddah. 22 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  50. 1 2 3 Abdullah Al Oraifij (16 August 2010). "Fourth assassination attempt against Prince foiled". Saudi Gazette. Riyadh. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
  51. ↑ Kevin Sullivan (23 January 2015). "Meet the Saudi royal family's rising star, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef". The Washington Post. Riyadh. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  52. ↑ Michael Slackman (28 August 2009), "Would-Be Killer Linked to Al Qaeda, Saudis Say", The New York Times, retrieved 13 May 2010
  53. ↑ "Saudi prince spoke to bomber on phone before attack". Reuters. 2 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2 September 2009. On the recording broadcast by Saudi-owned Al Arabiya, the two men are heard exchanging pleasantries and congratulating each other for the holy month of Ramadan, which was then being observed by Muslims around the world, indicating that the conversation took place in recent weeks. 'I need to meet you to tell you the whole story', the man told the prince. 'If you come I will sit with you and both of us can give whatever he has to his companion', the prince replied
  54. ↑ "Saudi prince wounded by suicide bomber vows to fight Al-Qaida". Haaretz. 28 August 2009. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  55. ↑ Panetta, Leon (2014). Worthy Fights. Penguin Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-1-59420-596-5.
  56. ↑ Bunker, R.J. Flaherty, C. (2013). Body Cavity Bombers: The New Martyrs. A Terrorism Research Center Book. iUniverse, Inc. Bloomington, 2013.
  57. ↑ "King commended the efforts of the Prince in the service of country and religion". Al Arabiya (in Arabic). 28 August 2009. Retrieved 30 September 2009.
  58. ↑ "Al Qaeda claims Saudi prince bomb". BBC. 30 August 2009. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  59. ↑ "Profile: Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud". Al Arabiya. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  60. ↑ "A world tour of the politicians named in the Panama Papers". France 24. 5 April 2016.
  61. ↑ "Family Tree of Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud". Datarabia. Retrieved 24 May 2012.

Media related to Muhammad bin Nayef at Wikimedia Commons

Saudi Arabian royalty
Preceded by
Muqrin		 Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
28 April 2015 – present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Ahmed bin Abdulaziz		 Minister of the Interior
2012–present 		Incumbent
Preceded by
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz		 Second Deputy Prime Minister
2015 		Succeeded by
Muhammad bin Salman
Preceded by
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz		 First Deputy Prime Minister
2015–present 		Incumbent
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