CNN - Saudi Arabia's king deposed the sitting crown prince Wednesday and replaced him with Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the deputy crown prince, according to state media.



Mohammed bin Salman, who is the son of King Salman, will now be the first in line to the throne.
The 31-year-old has been appointed deputy prime minister and will continue in his role as defense minister, according to a royal decree cited by state media.

Mohammed bin Salman has always had a visible role in the government, and has spearheaded the kingdom's attempts to wean itself off oil as part of an economic strategy announced last year.

As defense minister, he also oversaw the Saudi-led military campaign against Yemen's Houthi rebels, which has caused the deaths of thousands of civilians since 2015 and left the country spiraling towards "total social, economic and institutional collapse," according to the United Nations.



Power shift


The now former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz was named to that role in 2015 in what many called a surprise power-shift.
He replaced the king's half-brother Prince Muqrin as future ruler, bumping Mohammed bin Salman to second in the line of succession.
That has now been reversed, with Mohammed bin Salman now first in line to succeed the king and Mohammed bin Nayef stripped of his title and his roles as deputy prime minister and interior minister.

"This is a much more rapid consolidation of power than was expected," longtime CNN Middle East correspondent John Defterios said.
"It gives allies and the Kingdom's counterparts a clear indication of who is in charge today and who will lead the Kingdom, potentially for decades."

Defterios added that many key reform policies currently in place -- such as the Vision 2030 plan and a planned IPO by Saudi oil giant Aramco -- were already being driven by Mohammed bin Salman.



Images published in Saudi state media showed the new crown prince kissing the hand of his cousin Mohammed bin Nayef, who was said to have pledged allegiance to the man who has replaced him at the Safa Palace in Mecca.