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BFF-04
SAUDI-POLITICS
Saudi king orders government reshuffle after Khashoggi fallout
RIYADH, Dec 28, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman ordered a
sweeping government reshuffle Thursday, replacing key security and political
figures including the foreign minister, as the kingdom grapples with the
international fallout over critic Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
The surprise shake-up saw the appointment of new ministers of the powerful
National Guard, information and education, as well as the head of a new space
agency, but the energy and finance ministries were unaffected despite an
economic downturn.
The revamp left untouched the authority of Crown Prince Mohammed bin
Salman, the de facto ruler facing intense international scrutiny over the
October 2 murder of journalist Khashoggi, which tipped the kingdom into one
of its worst crises.
Ibrahim al-Assaf, a former finance minister who was detained last year in
an anti-corruption sweep, will replace Adel al-Jubeir as foreign minister, a
royal decree said.
Jubeir, who sought to defend the tainted government internationally after
Khashoggi’s murder, was effectively demoted to minister of state for foreign
affairs, the decree added without explaining the change.
In other significant appointments, Prince Abdullah bin Bandar was named
chief of the powerful National Guard, and Musaed al-Aiban, a Harvard
graduate, was appointed the new national security adviser.
The reshuffle would help the crown prince further “consolidate power” as
many of those promoted were his “key allies”, tweeted Ali Shihabi, head of
the pro-Saudi think tank The Arabia Foundation.
In other changes, Turki al-Shabanah, an executive at broadcaster Rotana,
was appointed as the new information minister, replacing Awwad al-Awwad —
who was named as an advisor to the royal court.
Turki al-Sheikh, a close aide to the crown prince, was removed as the head
of the kingdom’s sports commission and appointed entertainment authority
chief, while Ahmed al-Khatib was named tourism authority chief.
The king also ordered the creation of a national space agency to be led by
one of his other sons, Prince Sultan bin Salman, a former astronaut.
The energy, economy and finance ministries were left untouched even as the
petro-state faces a sharp fall in crude prices that has generated renewed
uncertainty over Prince Mohammed’s Vision 2030 reform programme for a post-
oil era.
But the appointment as foreign minister of Assaf, who holds a seat on the
boards of state oil giant Aramco and the vast Public Investment Fund,
indicates an emphasis on “economic diplomacy” as the kingdom seeks to
reassure foreign investors rattled by the Khashoggi crisis, analysts say.
Assaf was held in Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton hotel last year along with
hundreds of elite princes and businessmen, in what the government called an
anti-corruption crackdown.
– Tarnished image –
The reshuffle comes as Saudi Arabia seeks to repair its tarnished image
after Khashoggi’s murder, widely seen as its worst diplomatic crisis since
the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, in which most
of the hijackers were identified as Saudi nationals.
“You cannot delink Khashoggi from any developments, though government
reshuffles are customary every four years,” said Mohammed Alyahya, a senior
fellow at the Gulf Research Centre.
“The reshuffle saw the appointment of some young princes, but also veteran
statesmen to positions of power. There is an effort to balance the fast pace
of reform with bolstering government procedures and institutions.”
Saudi Arabia last week said it was creating government bodies to boost
oversight of its intelligence operations, in the wake of the murder.
The kingdom has said Khashoggi was killed inside its Istanbul consulate in
a “rogue operation” led by Saudi agents, but the CIA reportedly concluded
that Prince Mohammed ordered his assassination.
The murder has battered the reputation of the 33-year-old crown prince,
who controls all major levers of power. He is set to maintain his political
and security posts after Thursday’s reshuffle, including that of defence
minister.
Saudi Arabia last week slammed as “interference” a US Senate resolution
that held Prince Mohammed responsible for the killing, and another that
sought to end American military support for the Riyadh-led war in Yemen.
“The primary bone of contention between Saudi Arabia and American
lawmakers is the power of Prince Mohammed and his responsibility for the
murder of Khashoggi,” said Ryan Bohl, from the US geopolitical think tank
Stratfor.
“This reshuffle doesn’t undercut the crown prince, meaning that those
within the US Congress who want to see his role reduced will have an argument
that further action should still be taken.”
BSS/AFP/GMR/0830 hrs