Saudi Arabia's King Salman named his son, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, as the country's new energy minister, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Prince Abdulaziz takes over from Khalid al-Falih, who had headed the ministry since May 2016 and was recently removed as chairman of Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco. The appointment marks the first time that a royal will head the ministry and comes ahead of Saudi Aramco's impending IPO.
The new minister, an older half-brother to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, has served as minister of state for energy affairs since 2017 and has long been part of the country's delegation to the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to Gulf News.
