Saudi king names new FM in govt reshuffle

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's King Salman ordered a sweeping government reshuffle Thursday, replacing key security and political figures including the foreign minister.

The surprise shake up saw the appointment of a new National Guard chief and the replacement of the information minister and the head of the tourism authority, but the ministries of energy and finance were left untouched despite an economic downturn.

The reshuffle could help bolster the authority of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, heir to the Middle East's most powerful throne. 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 was effectively demoted to minister of state for foreign affairs, the decree added without offering any explanation. In other significant appointments, Prince Abdullah bin Bandar was named chief of the powerful National Guard, and Musaed al-Aiban was appointed the national security adviser.

In other changes, Turki al-Shabanah 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 named entertainment authority chief.

The energy, economy and finance ministries were left untouched even as the kingdom grapples with a sharp fall in crude prices that has generated renewed uncertainty over Prince Mohammed's Vision 2030 reform programme for a post-oil era. "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," he said. Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it was creating government bodies to boost oversight of its intelligence operations, in the wake of Khashoggi's murder.