The king also appointed a new national security advisor and head of the National Guard, and named new ministers for education, media and the sports authority. King Salman also issued a royal decree to restructure the Political and Security Affairs Council helmed by Crown Prince Mohammed.
Thursday’s reshuffling elevates members of Saudi Arabia’s old guard who had been marginalized after King Salman took the throne and consolidated power under Crown Prince Mohammed. The move, which projects an image of stability, was widely expected throughout the rumor mill that constantly buzzes around the Saudi royal family.
It is unlikely though to silence critics of the regime or make any real difference in policy.
The reshuffling actually empowers some of Crown Prince Mohammed’s closest allies, who have been appointed to Cabinet positions, according to Ali Shihabi, founder of the Arabia Foundation. Shihabi, who has at times defended the government during the Khashoggi crisis, cautioned against linking the incident with Thursday’s decree.
“The recent restructuring of the intelligence agency was a direct result of the Khashoggi murder but otherwise today’s changes also address structural issues (like the need to increase the senior bandwidth in the foreign policy space) that have been on the table for a while,” he said Thursday on Twitter.
Incoming Foreign Minister Al-Assaf is best known for his role as finance minister, a post he held for 20 years under former King Abdullah. At that time it was an extremely powerful position, with oversight of several portfolios, including management of sovereign wealth fund assets that would eventually become the Public Investment Fund, as well as approval for many of the megaprojects championed by the former king.
from Update News Zone http://bit.ly/2LAk9tT
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