Profile: Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud

Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was appointed second-in-line to the throne and second deputy prime minister by King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Jan. 23, 2015 and interior minister by the late King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on Nov. 5, 2012.

Prince Mohammed was born in Jeddah on Aug. 30, 1959, a son of the late Crown Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who served as deputy prime minister and interior minister.

He began his education at the Model Capital Institute in Riyadh and received a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1981 from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Oregon, United States.

Prior to joining the Interior Ministry in 1999, Prince Mohammed was in private business.

He received advanced law enforcement and counter-terrorism training in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz appointed Prince Mohammed assistant minister of interior for security affairs on May 13, 1999 and on July 22, 2004, he was appointed to the rank of minister where he oversaw the implementation of the kingdom’s successful counter-terrorism campaign.

Prince Mohammed was instrumental in setting up the Mohammed bin Naif Counseling and Care Center in 2006. He was named deputy interior minister in 2012.

He has survived a number of assassination attempts, including one by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in 2009.

Prince Mohammed is a member of the Allegiance Council, the National Authority for Combating Drugs, the Supreme Economic Council and the Supreme Council for Media.

He also chairs various committees, including the Supreme Hajj Committee, the Supreme Commission for Industrial Security, the Supreme Council of King Fahd Security College and the Supreme Council of Civil Defense.

Prince Mohammed holds honorary positions as president of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, the National Association of Retired Persons, the National Commission for the Care of Inmates, Released Prisoners and Their Families (Trahom) and honorary president and chairman of the Supreme Council of Naif Arab University for Security Sciences.

He also chairs various humanitarian and service committees that provide relief from natural and man-made disasters, including in Lebanon, Palestine, Somalia, Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Prince Mohammed enjoys swimming, horseback riding, and hunting.

Prince Mohammed is married to Princess Rima bint Sultan bin Abdulaziz. They have two daughters, Princess Sarah and Princess Lulua.

*Source: SPS & Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC

**Read the Arabic version of this profile here**