Muhammad bin Nayef Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن نايف آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Nāyif Āl Su‘ūd; born 30 August 1959), colloquially known by his initials MBN or MbN, is a former Saudi Arabian politician and businessman who served as the
crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
and first deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2017 and as the
minister of interior
An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and iden ...
from 2012 to 2017.
Prince Muhammad is a grandson of the founding monarch,
King Abdulaziz, and son of the former crown prince
Nayef bin Abdulaziz. Muhammad and Nayef were the first father-son duo in Saudi history to serve as crown prince.
[ Muhammad's uncle King Salman named him as crown prince on 29 April 2015. On 21 June 2017 the king appointed his own son, Mohammed bin Salman, as crown prince and relieved Muhammad bin Nayef of all positions. He has been in detention since 6 March 2020 along with his uncle ]Ahmed
Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet.
Etymology
The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
and his half-brother Nawwaf.
Early life and education
Muhammad bin Nayef was born in Jeddah on 30 August 1959. He is one of ten children of Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, himself a son of King Abdulaziz and full brother of King Fahd and King Salman. Prince Muhammad has an older brother, Saud bin Nayef
Saud bin Nayef Al Saud (born 1956) ( ar, سعود بن نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) is a Saudi Arabian politician who has served as governor of Eastern Province since 2013. A member of the House of Saud, he is the former head ...
, and two younger half-brothers, Nawwaf bin Nayef and Fahd bin Nayef. His mother, Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed,[ was a member of the Al Jiluwi branch of the House of Saud. She died in July 2019.
Muhammad bin Nayef studied in the United States. There he received a bachelor's degree in ]political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
in 1981. He took courses at Lewis & Clark College, but did not receive a degree. He attended the FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
's security courses from 1985 to 1988, and trained with Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...
's anti-terrorism units from 1992 to 1994.[
]
Career
Muhammad bin Nayef was appointed assistant interior minister for security affairs in 1999. He had been a businessman before this appointment. He was widely credited for the success of the Ministry's counter-terrorism program. He was regarded as the architect of the government's counter-insurgency program. He also served as the director of civil defense during his term as assistant minister. He was considered to be an effective assistant interior minister.
In 2004, Muhammad bin Nayef was appointed to the rank of minister, becoming number two at the Ministry of Interior.[ In October 2010, he warned the U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser of the ]2010 cargo plane bomb plot
On October 29, 2010, two packages, each containing a bomb consisting of plastic explosives and a detonating mechanism, were found on separate cargo planes. The bombs were discovered as a result of intelligence received from Saudi Arabia's securi ...
. After the appointment of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as interior minister upon the death of Prince Nayef in July 2012, Prince Muhammad became deputy interior minister.[
In November 2009, King Abdullah appointed Muhammad as a member of the influential Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia. This move was regarded as approval of the increase in then-Crown Prince Nayef's power by King Abdullah. On the other hand, this appointment enabled Prince Muhammad to extend his influence over the government's economy policy.]
On 5 November 2012, King Abdullah issued a royal decree and dismissed Prince Ahmed as minister of interior and appointed Prince Muhammad to the post.[ He became the tenth interior minister of Saudi Arabia. Prince Muhammad took the oath of office in front of King Abdullah on 6 November 2012. His appointment was not regarded very positively by human rights activists due to Prince Muhammad's professional experience as a tough enforcer who imprisoned thousands of suspected troublemakers in Saudi Arabia.] However, he was regarded as less corrupt and less likely to abuse his power in comparison to other senior princes of his generation.[
Prince Muhammad met with British Prime Minister ]David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
in January 2013. He then met with U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in Washington, D.C. on 14 January 2013. They discussed issues of security and regional developments.[ In late January 2013, Prince Muhammad announced that Saudi women would be allowed to work at the Saudi intelligence agency.
In February 2014, Prince Muhammad replaced Bandar bin Sultan, then intelligence chief of Saudi Arabia, and was placed in charge of Saudi intelligence in ]Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Muhammad was assisted in this effort by Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah
Mutaib bin Abdullah Al Saud ( ar, متعب بن عبد الله آل سعود, ''Mutaʿib bin ʿAbdullāh ʾĀl Suʿūd'', alternative spelling Miteb; born 26 March 1952) is a Saudi prince and military officer who served as Saudi Arabia's ministe ...
, the minister of the Saudi Arabian National Guard
The Saudi Arabian National Guard or SANG ( ar, الحَرَس الوَطنيّ, al-Ḥaras al-Waṭanī), also known as the "White Army", is one of the three major branches of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The national gua ...
.
On 10 February 2017, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
(CIA) granted its "George Tenet Medal" to Prince Muhammad for what the agency called his "excellent intelligence performance, in the domain of counter-terrorism and his unbound contribution to realize world security and peace". The medal, named after George Tenet
George John Tenet (born January 5, 1953) is an American intelligence official and academic who served as the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) for the United States Central Intelligence Agency, as well as a Distinguished Professor in the P ...
, CIA's longest-serving director, from 1996 to 2004, was handed to him by the newly appointed CIA director Mike Pompeo
Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
during a reception ceremony in Riyadh in the presence of minister of defense Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud. It was the first reaffirmation of ties between the Islamic monarchy and United States since President Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
took office on 20 January 2017. The reception was attended by senior civil and military officials and by the U.S. Charge d'affaires to the Kingdom, Christopher Hensel. Prince Muhammed and Pompeo discussed security with Turkish officials, and said Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. is "historic and strategic". He added that the move shows Washington's recognition of what he called Riyadh's anti-terrorism efforts.
Deputy Crown Prince
On 23 January 2015 it was announced that King Salman had appointed Muhammad bin Nayef as deputy crown prince.[ The announcement reportedly helped calm fears of dynastic instability over the line of succession. Thus, Prince Muhammad became the first of his generation to be officially in line for the throne. In addition to his other posts Prince Muhammad was named the chair of the Council for Political and Security Affairs which was established on 29 January 2015.]
War in Yemen
As chair of the Council for Political and Security Affairs, the Prince was a leading commander of Operation Decisive Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
, the first major Saudi military operation of the 21st century.
Crown Prince
On 29 April 2015, Muhammad bin Nayef was named Crown Prince, replacing Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, مقرن بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود, Muqrin ibn ‘Abd al ‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd; born 15 September 1945)Lacey gives his birth year as 1943. is a Saudi Arabian politician, businessman, and former milit ...
in the post.
Ousting
Muhammad bin Nayef was deposed by royal decree on 21 June 2017, and the king's son Mohammed bin Salman was made heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
to the throne. He was also relieved of all positions by royal decree. Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Saud
Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن سعود آل سعود ''ʿAbd al ʿAzīz ibn Suʿūd Āl Suʿūd''; born 4 November 1983) is a Saudi royal who has been the minister of interior of Saudi Arabia since 21 June 2017.
Early ...
replaced Prince Muhammad as minister of interior. The change of succession had been predicted in December 2015 by an unusually blunt and public memo published by the German Federal Intelligence Service
The Federal Intelligence Service (German: ; , BND) is the foreign intelligence agency of Germany, directly subordinate to the Chancellor's Office. The BND headquarters is located in central Berlin and is the world's largest intelligence head ...
, for which it was subsequently rebuked by the German government.
According to the ''New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', reports of "current and former United States officials and associates of the royal family" speaking on condition of anonymity, state that the ousting of Muhammad bin Nayef and his replacement by Mohammed bin Salman in late June 2017 was not "seamless", but involved Muhammad bin Nayef being "held against his will and pressured for hours to give up his claim to the throne". He was still being confined to his palace as of 19 July 2017. In addition, his bank accounts were blocked in late fall 2017. In reply, a Saudi official dismissed these reports as "unfounded and untrue in addition to being nonsense" and a "complete fantasy worthy of Hollywood," according to Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
news agency. Following his removal his wife and daughters were forbidden from leaving Saudi Arabia.
Arrest
Muhammad bin Nayef, his half-brother Nawwaf bin Nayef and his uncle Ahmed bin Abdulaziz were arrested and charged with treason on 6 March 2020.
On 25 August 2020, the legal representatives of Muhammad bin Nayef raised concerns over his well-being, alleging that Saudi Arabian authorities have not allowed his doctor or his family members to visit him since his arrest five months earlier.
Views
Muhammad bin Nayef, unlike most of the royal family, actively talks to the media. Concerning the struggle against terrorism, he adopts a policy of the iron fist like his father, Prince Nayef.[ He, and other decision-making elites, have asserted that terrorism must be treated as a form of crime and fought with ruthless policing methods. ]Walid Jumblatt
Walid Kamal Jumblatt ( ar, وليد جنبلاط; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese Druze politician and former militia commander who has been leading the Progressive Socialist Party since 1977. While leading the Lebanese National Resistance Fr ...
described Muhammad bin Nayef as the Saudi equivalent of General Ashraf Rifi, former director-general of Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
's Internal Security Forces.
Muhammad bin Nayef was commended by Western intelligence agencies for Saudi Arabia's counterterrorism programs. He called for a "security channel" with the United States to facilitate information exchange. He firmly supported U.S. President Barack Obama in his opposition to the release of detainee interrogation photographs. He thought that Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
was a "dangerous failed state" and becoming a serious threat to Saudi Arabia. He further believed that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was losing control. He suggested a strategy of directly working with Yemeni tribes, condemning terrorism.
He praised General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani (Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 8th Chief of Army Staff , being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired from ...
, the Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, as a "good man". He voiced his concerns regarding Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
's nuclear program. He defers foreign policy issues to the King. After his appointment as interior minister, U.S. diplomats argued that he is "the most pro-American minister in the Saudi Cabinet".
Influence
In 2011 ''The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' described Prince Muhammad as energetic and low-key, and stated that he was one of the candidates for the throne when the line of succession passes to the grandsons of King Abdulaziz. He was also considered to be one of the possible contenders after his father's death in June 2012. In 2011, Michael Hayden reported that Prince Muhammad was the world's fifth most powerful defender. In April 2016, Prince Muhammad was named by ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' as one of the 100 Most Influential People.
On 21 June 2017, Prince Muhammad bin Nayef was replaced as the heir to the Saudi Kingdom by Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a move considered to be "upending decades of royal custom and profoundly reordering the kingdom’s inner power structure." He also lost his position as interior minister. Over the last 15 years, Muhammad bin Nayef had been considered Saudi Arabia's most influential security official, maintaining close connections with American and British intelligence communities.
Assassination attempts
Muhammad bin Nayef has escaped four assassination attempts. He was injured in the third attempt, and unhurt in the others.
The third attempt was on 27 August 2009.[ Muhammad bin Nayef was injured by ]Abdullah al-Asiri
Abdullah Hassan al-Asiri ( ar, عبد الله حسن عسيري) (1986 – 27 August 2009) was a Saudi Arabian member of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
His name is an ascription to the 'Asir Province of Saudi Arabia. He died in Augu ...
, a suicide bomber linked to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Asiri spoke to Muhammad bin Nayef a few days prior to the bombing, and expressed a desire to surrender himself to the authorities as part of the country's terrorist rehabilitation program. This was apparently a plot to get admitted to the Prince's palace. Al-Asiri is believed to have traveled to Jeddah from the Yemeni province of Marib
Marib ( ar, مَأْرِب, Maʾrib; Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of ''Sabaʾ'' ( ar, سَبَأ), which some scholars ...
. During Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
, al-Asiri waited in line at the Prince's palace as a "well-wisher". He exploded a suicide bomb, killing himself, but apparently only slightly injuring Muhammad bin Nayef, who was protected from the full force of the blast by al-Asiri's body. The explosive device was hidden inside al-Asiri's rectum and anal canal
The anal canal is the part that connects the rectum to the anus, located below the level of the pelvic diaphragm. It is located within the anal triangle of the perineum, between the right and left ischioanal fossa. As the final functional segment ...
, which security experts described as a novel technique. Such a device has since come to be known as a surgically implanted improvised explosive device (SIIED), or body cavity bomb (BCB). Muhammad bin Nayef appeared on state television with a bandage around two of his fingers on his left hand. He stated, "I did not want him to be searched, but he surprised me by blowing himself up."
According to Bruce Riedel
Bruce O. Riedel (born 1953) is an American expert on U.S. security, South Asia, and counter-terrorism. He is currently a senior fellow in the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, and a professor at Johns Hopkins School ...
, a former CIA officer and director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution, often stylized as simply Brookings, is an American research group founded in 1916. Located on Think Tank Row in Washington, D.C., the organization conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in ec ...
, "the weight of the evidence I have seen is that in Nayefwas more injured in the assassination attempt than was admitted." To treat his injuries the prince "got onto a pain killer routine that was very addictive. I think that problem got progressively worse." According to ''The New York Times,'' citing "an associate of the royal family", the prince's alleged addiction was cited to "strengthen support for the sudden change in the line of succession" that removed bin Nayef from office.
This was the first assassination attempt against a royal family member since 2003, when Saudi Arabia faced a sharp uptick in Al Qaeda-linked attacks. The last assassination attempt against Prince Muhammad was in August 2010.
Personal life
Muhammad bin Nayef is a son-in-law of Sultan bin Abdulaziz
Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (c. 5 January 1928 – 22 October 2011) (Arabic: سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''Sulṭān ibn ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Suʿūd''), called ''Sultan the Good'' (Arabic: سلطان الخير ''Sulṭa ...
. His wife is Princess Reema bint Sultan Al Saud,[ and they have two daughters, Princess Sarah and Princess Lulua.
In April 2016 Muhammad bin Nayef was implicated in the ]Panama Papers
The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
leaks.
Awards
In 2015 Muhammad bin Nayef was awarded the George Tenet medal by the CIA.
On 4 March 2016 when he was crown prince he was awarded Légion d’honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
by then French president François Hollande
François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...
citing his efforts in combating terrorism in the region.
Ancestry
Notes
; Footnotes
; References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Muhammad Nayef
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
1959 births
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Grand Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
Living people
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
People named in the Panama Papers
Survivors of terrorist attacks
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...