The 31-year-old is now next in line to the throne.
The Crown Prince is "often charming in person, but analysts say his rapid rise has also created friction within the ruling family and made Saudi policy less predictable than in recent decades", says Reuters.
The brutal reality is that the conflict in Yemen is an Iran-Saudi proxy war, and the new crown prince one of its architects. Iran's state TV has called the appointment a "soft coup in Saudi Arabia".
Following decades of Saudi affairs led by typically 70 and 80-year-old kings, Prince Mohammed navigated the world stage easily, reportedly charming both US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to Reuters.
Omar Al-Ubaydli, an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and a senior fellow at the Bahrain Center for Strategic, International and Energy Studies, said the appointment erases uncertainty people had about the direction Saudi Arabia will take as it modernizes and looks to take a slice of its government-controlled oil company public.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, appointed Mohammed bin Nayef Al Saud as his heir apparent on April 29, 2015.
The change arrives at a critical time for the Sunni Muslim kingdom as it grapples with the economic fallout from declining oil prices and a costly military campaign it leads against Shiite rebels in neighboring Yemen.
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Mohammed Bin Salman has also spearheaded the groundbreaking reforms Saudi Arabia has witnessed recently.
Although he is still in his youth, Mohammed bin Salman has for a long time held senior government positions and has been at the forefront of the kingdom's plans to wean itself off oil as one of economic strategies that were launched previous year.
Saudi Arabia's stock market surged after the announcement, closing more than 5 percent up on the day. This is according to a role decree which was quoted by state media.
A top Israeli minister has issued an impassioned plea to the leader of Saudi Arabia to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an official trip to Riyadh.
They also discussed ways to further deepen economic cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia. The US spent many years courting Mohammed bin Nayef as their preferred successor after the end of the current generation of royals. Saudi Arabia has typically been ruled by kings in their 70s or 80s.
The website of English-language news agency Press TV ran a lengthy article that denounced Mohammed bin Salman's hand in policy, including the "bloody military campaign" in Yemen and the "extensive and jarring economic shake-up" now underway in Saudi Arabia.
Since Mohammed bin Salman assumed greater powers under his father, the Saudis have taken a more aggressive role in the region. That will happen on the Saudis' time frame - regardless of global pressure to change the law - and whatever they say, it is not a priority. "MbS is very popular among Saudi youth and has a window of opportunity to try and reshape the Kingdom through Vision 2030", said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at the US Baker Institute.
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