King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, issued a number of Royal Orders Saturday appointing Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz as Minister of Defense, Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz as Emir of Riyadh region at the rank of minister and Prince Mohammed Bin Saad Bin Abdul Aziz as his deputy at the rank of minister. Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz was appointed Deputy Minister of Defense at the rank of minister. Prince Saud Bin Naif Bin Abdul Aziz was appointed Head of the Crown Prince Court and Special Advisor to the Crown Prince at the rank of minister. Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz was relieved of his post as Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation. Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Hadeethi was relieved of his post as Head of the Crown Prince Court, Mohammed Bin Salem Al-Marri was relieved of his post as Special Secretary to the Crown Prince. He has been replaced by Abdul Rahman Bin Ali Al-Rubai'an at the rank of minister. The King also issued orders to rename the Ministry of Defense, Aviation and General Inspection as the Ministry of Defense. The Royal Order also split the Defense Ministry from the General Civil Aviation Authority. Prince Fahd Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al-Saud has been appointed as Chairman of the General Commission for Civil Aviation at the rank of minister and Dr. Faisal Bin Hamad Al-Suqair as his deputy at the excellent rank. The Royal Order said the board of Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia) would be restructured. The Royal Order also said the new civil aviation authority would come under the direct control of the Prime Minister.
