“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful, I swear in the name of Allah the Almighty that I will be loyal to my religion, then to my king and to my country. I will not divulge state secrets and I will maintain the welfare of the state, its regulations, and discharge my work with truth, trustworthiness and sincerity,” Prince Salman said while taking the oath.

Prince Salman greeted the king afterward. The king congratulated and wished the prince success in his service to the religion and the nation, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

After the ceremony Prince Salman thanked the king for his appointment. The prince also congratulated the king on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha and expressed pride for the king’s trust in him.

The king ordered the appointment of the prince as the new defense minister on Saturday. The royal orders also included the appointment of Prince Sattam as the new governor of Riyadh, the position vacated by Prince Salman. The king also appointed Prince Khaled bin Sultan as the deputy defense minister.

Princes, religious scholars, tribal leaders, ministers and high-ranking officials and a number of citizens attended the swearing-in ceremony. They also greeted the king on the occasion of the Eid Al-Adha.

The new Riyadh Gov. Prince Sattam was born in 1941 in Riyadh and was the deputy governor of Riyadh since 1968. His primary education was at the Princes' School in Riyadh. He took a bachelor degree in business administration from the University of San Diego in 1965. He also received an honorary doctorate from the same university in 1975.

The prince is also at the forefront of many developmental and humanitarian activities. Some of his positions include the chairman of the Committee for the Release of Debtor Prisoners, deputy chairman of the Higher Saudization Committee, deputy chairman of the Arriyadh Development Authority, deputy chairman of the Al-Birr Charity Society in Riyadh, chairman of the committee for collection of donations to the Muslims of Kosovo and Chechnya in Riyadh.

Newly appointed Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan was born in 1949 in Makkah. He was the assistant minister of defense and aviation prior to this new appointment.  Khaled attended the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst and the US Army's Command and did his masters in military sciences at the General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas in 1979.

He graduated from the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. He also did his master in administrative and political science and received an honorary doctorate from Aurburn University Montgomery.

Prince Khaled served in various branches of Saudi Arabia's military. In January 2001, he was appointed as assistant defense minister of military affairs.

During his tenure as governor of Riyadh close to six decades Prince Salman's humanitarian services have never been confined to the province or the borders of the Kingdom. The prince has been a driving force behind efforts to collect donations for victims of calamities in the Muslim and the Arab world.

So, in 1956 the prince headed the committee to collect donations for the victims of Suez crisis and also the committee to help the people suffering in Algeria, in 1967.  He chaired the people's committee to assist the Palestinian martyrs. He also led the donation campaign to help the victims in Pakistan in the India-Pakistan war in the 1971. He also headed the people's committee to support Egypt and Syria in the Arab-Israel war of 1967.

The prince was also the chairman of the general organization to receive help for Afghans in their fight against the Russian occupation and the war victims in 1979, the local committee to help the victims of flood in Sudan in 1988, the committee to collect donations for the Yemen Democratic Republic in 1989, the committee to help Kuwaitis following the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1990, committee to help flood victims in Bangladesh in 1991, The Higher Committee to Collect Donations for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 and the committee to help earthquake victims in Egypt in 1992. He was also chairman of the committee to collect donations for the Second Intifada in Palestine in 2000.

The prince also has received countless awards and other accolades in recognition of his cross border humanitarian services.

They include the King Abdul Aziz Sash of the First Order, the French award on the occasion of the 2,000 anniversary of the founding of the Paris city in 1985, Intellectual Efficiency Award from Morocco in 1989, humanitarian service prize for the Disabled Children's Society in 1995, Bosnia Herzegovina Gold Medal for supporting the cause of that country's independence in 1997, United Nations' Shield for contribution to reduce poverty in the world in 1997, Al-Quds Star of Palestine in 1998, Sikatuna Medal from Philippines in 1999, the Highest Medal of Senegal in 1999, Yemen Unity Medal of the Second Order in 2001, Bahrain Prize for Humanitarian Activities in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in 2007 in addition to the Baden Powell Scouts Fellowship he received from King of Sweden Carl XVI  Gustaf in 2008.