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To: JerseyHighlander

Some more interesting bits on Salman from Wikipedia:

Defence Minister

On 5 November 2011, Prince Salman was appointed the Minister of Defence, replacing his full brother late Crown Prince Sultan,[10] and late Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz was named as the governor of the Riyadh Province. Prince Salman was also named as a member of the National Security Council (NSC) on the same day.[11]

It is speculated that his appointment as Defence Minister occurred due to his qualities. First, he has a conciliatory and diplomatic nature. It is well known that he actively deals with internal family problems and mediates disputes between family members. Second, Prince Salman belongs to the middle generation in the royal family; therefore, he could develop close ties with both generations socially and culturally. Last, as a result of his long-term governorship, he developed a network of relationships within Arab and international circles.[12]

Prince Salman visited both the US and the United Kingdom where he met with U.S. President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron in April 2012.[13][14] In June 2012, he met Spanish defence minister Pedro Morenés.[14]
Crown Prince
Styles of
Crown Prince Salman
Coat of arms of Saudi Arabia.svg
Reference style His Royal Highness
Spoken style Your Royal Highness

On 18 June 2012, Prince Salman was appointed the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia shortly after the death of his brother and former crown prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz.[15][16] Prince Salman was also made Deputy Prime Minister.[17] His nomination as Crown Prince and deputy prime minister is considered by Reuters to be a signal that King Abdullah’s cautious reforms are likely to continue.[17] On the other hand, Saudi reformists stated that Prince Salman takes a more diplomatic approach towards the opposition figures in contrast to other Saudi royals, but he cannot be considered to be a political reformer.[18] They also argued that like King Abdullah, Prince Salman mostly focuses on economic improvement rather than on political change.[18]

Royal court announced on 27 August 2012 that Prince Salman was in charge of state affairs since King Abdullah was out of the country due to personal holiday.[19] Prince Salman launched Twitter account on 23 February 2013.[20]
Other positions

Prince Salman is head of the family council, called The Descendants’ Council (Majlis al Uthra in Arabic), that was established by King Fahd in 2000 to solve family matters, realizing consensus and to reduce publically embarrassing behaviour of some family members.[21][22] He is also Chairman of the following organizations: King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (KAFRA),[23] King Abdulaziz Museum,[24] the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research and the Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society for the Care of Kidney Patients. In September 2012, Prince Salman was named as the deputy chairman of the Military Service Council.[25] He is a strong advocate for philanthropy in poor Muslim nations such as Somalia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.[7] His financial support to Bosnia also contributed to radical Islamists in the region.[26]
Influence

Prince Salman is well regarded as intelligent and hard-working. He is a trusted mediator in settling royal conflicts among the extended Al Saud – estimated at 4,000 princes. His administration of Riyadh Province was reportedly corruption-free. He is a prominent figure of the royal council, which allows him to select which princes will be delegated which responsibilities of the Kingdom.[7]

Prince Salman and his family own a media group, including pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat and Al Eqtisadiah.[27][28] Though he owns only 10% of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), he is often referred by auditors as its owner.[27] He reportedly controls the organization through his son Prince Faisal,[27] who was the chairman. The SRMG publishes such daily papers as Arab News, Asharq Al-Awsat and Al Eqtisadiah through its subsidiary Saudi Research and Publishing Company (SRPC).[29]

In a similar vein, Prince Salman is reported to have some strong alliances with significant journalists. He is said to be close to Al Arabiya TV director and Asharq Al-Awsat journalist Abdelrahman Al Rashid and to Othman Al Omeir, who launched and is the owner of the liberal e-newspaper Elaph. Prince Salman is thought to have connections with the Elaph website.[30]
Views

In November 2002, Prince Salman said his country was not responsible if “some change the work of charity into work of evil”.[31] He stated that he had personally taken part in the activities of those organizations.[31] He also added “I know the assistance goes to doing good. But if there are those who change some work of charity into evil activities, then it is not the kingdom’s responsibility, nor it people, which helps its Arab and Muslim brothers around the world.”[31]

Prince Salman was close to political conservatism according to a 2007 US diplomatic cable. There he argues against introducing democracy to Saudi Arabia because of regional and tribal divisions.[32]
Personal life
Salman in his youth

Salman bin Abdulaziz married three times.[33] He firstly married Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi[34] until her death at the age of 71 in late July 2011.[35] She was a daughter of Prince Salman’s maternal uncle, Turki bin Ahmad Al Sudairi,[35] who was one of the former governors of Asir Province.[36] Sultana Al Sudairi supported the Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society for the Care of Kidney Patients and other charitable organizations in the country.[37] His children from this marriage are Prince Fahd, Prince Ahmed, Prince Sultan, Prince Abdulaziz, Prince Faisal and Princess Hussa (born 1974).[37]

His child from his second marriage with Sarah bint Faisal Al Sabayi is Prince Saud. His children from his third marriage with Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan Al Hithalayn are Prince Mohammed, Prince Turki, Prince Khalid, Prince Nayif, Prince Bandar and Prince Rakan.[38]

His oldest son Fahd bin Salman died of heart failure at the age of 47 in July 2001.[39] Another son, Ahmad bin Salman, died after a heart attack in July 2002 at the age of 43.[40] His second son, Sultan bin Salman, became the first person of royal blood, the first Arab, and first Muslim to fly in outer space when he flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-G) in June 1985.[41] He is the chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiques (SCTA). Abdulaziz bin Salman, another son, has been the deputy minister of oil since 1995.[42] Faisal bin Salman is the governor of Madinah province. One of his younger sons, Mohammad, is his private advisor at the ministry of defense and at the Crown Prince Court.[43] Turki bin Salman became the chairman of the Saudi Research and Media Group in February 2013, replacing his elder brother Faisal bin Salman.[44]

Prince Salman was the closest brother to the late Crown Prince Sultan, having remained at his side during his constant illness and recovery in New York and Morocco, nearly from 2008 to 2011.[12] Prince Sultan described him as “the prince of loyalty” in a letter sent to him.[45] Prince Salman was also late King Fahd’s most trusted advisor during his reign.[46][47]

His legal counsel was William Jeffress Jr, of Houston-based Baker Botts LLP in a lawsuit filed by families of victims of 11 September terrorist attacks from 2002 to 2010.[48]
Health


31 posted on 05/27/2013 4:34:02 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: 9YearLurker
Prince Salman was close to political conservatism according to a 2007 US diplomatic cable. There he argues against introducing democracy to Saudi Arabia because of regional and tribal divisions.[32]

And what genius at State decided that a man who does not favor democracy is in any way a 'conservative'?

84 posted on 05/27/2013 10:07:57 AM PDT by Colonel_Flagg (Blather. Reince. Repeat.)
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