Saudi Says Government Reshuffle Was Routine, Amid Jamal khashoggi Murder

Most of the other ministers remained in their roles and some allies of King Salman's son and king, 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were also promoted.

 Dubai:

The reshuffle of the Saudi king's government was expected as the cabinet was to be replaced and renamed every four years, the government said Friday, giving a technocratic explanation to a move perceived by critics as an attempt at crisis management.

The statement was issued by the government's communications office after the king raised senior government officials in key cabinet posts on Thursday, including the installation of a former finance minister at the head of the foreign ministry.

The position of national security adviser was given to a son of the chief Saudi intelligence chief, trained at Harvard and raised at Harvard, who has also long been an integral part of the royal court.

Most of the other ministers remained in their roles and some allies of King Salman's son and king, 33-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed, were also promoted.

According to analysts, these measures were aimed at repairing the damage done to the government's image by the murder of US-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October.

According to a statement from the communications office, a Saudi official said the reshuffle took into account current technocratic considerations and would come at the end of the government's four-year term, as required by law.