The key post had been vacant since the death of Prince Sultan, who was the minister of defense and civil aviation, on Oct. 22.

The new Riyadh governor is Prince Sattam, who had been serving as deputy governor of the province with the rank of minister. Prince Muhammad bin Saad will be the new deputy governor of the province and with the rank of minister, a royal order said.

Prince Salman has been the governor of Riyadh province since 1962. He has, over the past five decades, supervised and encouraged the expansive growth of the city from a mid-sized town into a major urban metropolis.

Prince Salman has also been very active in charitable activities. His philanthropic services include, among others, the presidency of the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research and the presidency of the Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society for the Care of Kidney Patients.

The royal order also renamed the Ministry of Defense and Aviation and the General Inspectorate as simply the Ministry of Defense, the Saudi Press Agency reported Saturday.

The king also appointed Prince Khaled bin Sultan as deputy defense minister. He is currently the assistant minister of defense and aviation.

The king relieved Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation Prince Abdul Rahman of his duties.

The king also appointed Prince Fahd bin Abdullah bin Muhammad as the president of the General Authority for Civil Aviation (GACA) with the rank of minister. Faisal Al-Sugair has been appointed its vice president.

The king ordered the reconstitution of the board of directors of GACA and accordingly the president of GACA will also serve as the chairman of the board of directors of GACA.

The duties and responsibilities of the civil aviation have been taken away from the Ministry of Defense and given to GACA. The employees, properties, documents and financial allocations of civil aviation will also be transferred to GACA.

A committee of the Civil Service Ministry and the Finance Ministry with the participation of the Defense Ministry and GACA will draw up the executive plans for this purpose.

The president of GACA will also be the chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Arabian Airlines General Corporation and the board will be reconstituted accordingly.

The king appointed Prince Saud bin Naif president of the crown prince’s office after relieving Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Hudaithy from that post. The prince will also serve as special adviser to the crown prince with the rank of minister.

Special Secretary to the Crown Prince Muhammad Salim Al-Murri has been relieved of his post and Abdul Rahman Al-Rubaian appointed in his place with the rank of minister.

The king said that as the chairman of the council of ministers, he would also serve as chairman of the ministerial committee for administrative organization, while the deputy premier would serve as the committee's deputy chairman.

The king will also serve as chairman of the Strategic Reserve Program and the deputy premier would be his No. 2.

The crown prince and deputy premier will be deputy chairman of the National Security Council while the minister of defense will be one of the council members, according to the royal order.

The crown prince and deputy premier will also be chairman of the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs and deputy chairman of the Higher Economic Council.

The king ordered that the deputy premier would also hold the post of deputy chairman of the higher council for King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy and also deputy chairman of the Military Service Council.

Prince Salman was born in 1935 in Riyadh and was educated in the Princes' School set up at the royal palace.

He is one of the most senior members of the ruling family. His religious and academic education and his personal readings have qualified him to be a unique cultural personality. He is well advised in political affairs and global trends, and is a great authority on the history of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab world.

He is the Chairman of Arriyadh Development Authority, Higher Commission of Development of Diriyah, Chairman of King Fahd National Library and Chairman of King Abdulaziz Foundation. He is the secretary-general of King Abdulaziz Islamic Foundation and honorary president of Prince Salman Social Center, honorary chairman of Riyadh Development Company, chairman of Charity Association in Riyadh, honorary chairman of Patient Friend Committee in Riyadh province, chairman of Bin Baz Benevolent Project for Assisting Youth to Marry, chairman of Prince Salman Charity Housing Project, chairman of Riyadh Charity Science Organization, chairman of Orphan Care Association in Riyadh region, chairman of Renal Failure Patients in Riyadh Region, honorary chairman of Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Baz Charity Organization.

His son Prince Sultan bin Salman, who was the first Arab and Muslim to travel to space on the US space shuttle Discovery in 1985, is the president of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, while another son Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman is the assistant minister of Petroleum. Prince Faisal bin Salman is the chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG).

His son Prince Ahmad, who established SRMG in 1987, passed away at the age of 43 in 2002. Prince Fahd, his oldest son died in 2001.

The mission of Prince Salman Center for Disability Research is to prevent disabilities and improve the quality of life for the disabled through research.

It is based in Riyadh and conducts and funds high quality laboratory and field research on all aspects and ages of disability.

Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society for the Care of Kidney Patients plans to become the biggest dialysis center in the Middle East, equipped with 140 machines to serve 800 patients daily.