Salman of Saudi Arabia

Salman سلمان
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Salman in 2020
King of Saudi Arabia
Reign	23 January 2015 – present
Bay'ah	23 January 2015
Predecessor	Abdullah
Crown princes	Muqrin bin Abdulaziz (2015) Muhammad bin Nayef (2015–2017) Mohammed bin Salman (2017–present)
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
In office 23 January 2015 – 27 September 2022
Preceded by	Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
Succeeded by	Mohammed bin Salman
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Deputy Prime Minister
In office 18 June 2012 – 23 January 2015
Monarch	Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
Prime Minister	Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
Preceded by	Nayef bin Abdulaziz
Succeeded by	Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
Minister of Defense
In office 5 November 2011 – 23 January 2015
Prime Minister	King Abdullah
Preceded by	Sultan bin Abdulaziz
Succeeded by	Mohammed bin Salman
Governor of Riyadh Province
In office 5 February 1963 – 5 November 2011
Appointed by	King Saud
Preceded by	Badr bin Saud
Succeeded by	Sattam bin Abdulaziz
In office 18 April 1955 – 22 September 1960
Appointed by	King Saud
Preceded by	Nayef bin Abdulaziz
Succeeded by	Fawwaz bin Abdulaziz
Deputy Governor of Riyadh Province
In office 16 March 1954 – 18 April 1955
Appointed by	King Saud
Preceded by	Nayef bin Abdulaziz
Succeeded by	Turki II bin Abdulaziz
Born	(1935-12-31) 31 December 1935 (age 88) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Spouses	Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi ​ ​ (m. 1954; died 2011)​ Sarah bint Faisal Al Subai'ai (divorced) Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain
Issue Detail	List Prince Fahd Prince Sultan Prince Ahmed Prince Abdulaziz Prince Faisal Princess Hassa Crown Prince Mohammed Prince Saud Prince Turki Prince Khalid
Names Salman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman
House	Al Saud
Father	Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia
Mother	Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi
Signature

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود, romanized: Salmān bin ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and was also Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia, he assumed the throne on 23 January 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 18 June 2012 to 23 January 2015. Salman is the third oldest living head of state, the oldest living monarch, and Saudi Arabia's first head of state born after the unification of Saudi Arabia. He has a reported personal wealth of at least $18 billion, which makes him the third wealthiest royal in the world and one of the wealthiest individuals in the world.^[1]

Salman is a son of King Abdulaziz and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, making him one of the Sudairi Seven. He was the deputy governor of Riyadh and later the governor of Riyadh for 48 years from 1963 to 2011. He was then appointed minister of defense. He was named crown prince in 2012. Salman became king in 2015 upon the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. Since January 2024, he is the oldest surviving son of King Abdulaziz.

Salman's major initiatives as king include the Saudi intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, Saudi Vision 2030, a 2017 decree allowing Saudi women to drive. as well as a push to normalize relations with Israel in order to create an alliance against Iran and her proxies.^[2][3] His seventh son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is considered the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, due to the King's poor health and his own political maneuvering.^[4] Mohammed replaced his father as prime minister in 2022.^[5]