Saudi King Salman quickly makes his mark

King Salman and his entourage have moved quickly to consolidate power in their hands since the death of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. Salman's son Mohammed has become a key player in keeping with the Saudi monarchical tradition.

The Saudi succession from King Abdullah to King Salman was a model of stability. As expected, the heir apparent ascended to the throne and the third in line moved up to be the new crown prince, Muqrin bin Abdulaziz. Salman was quick to chose a new second deputy prime minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who has made his reputation fighting al-Qaeda. The line of succession is now clearly established and will pass from the sons of the modern kingdom's founder, Abdulaziz Ibn Al Saud, to his grandsons after Muqrin.

Salman also moved one of his younger sons Prince Mohammed bin Salman into two key positions, minister of defense and chief of the royal court. At 34, Prince Mohammed is by far the youngest Saudi in a senior decision-making role. But he is the same age as his famous predecessor Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, who became minister of defense in 1963 at age 34 and remained in that post until becoming crown prince in 2011. (Salman replaced him as minister of defense).

A graduate of King Saud University, Mohammed has been a special adviser to his father in a number of positions for much of the last decade. He always traveled with his father and has been gatekeeper to his court. He was at Salman's side, for example, when Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came to Riyadh in January to pay his respects to the dying Abdullah and perform the minor pilgrimage to Mecca. He has a reputation for being aggressive and ambitious, as might be expected.