Saudi Arabia announced the appointment of Prince Khaled bin Salman as the new ambassador to the U.S. on Saturday, Arab News reported.
"Prince Abdullah bin Faysal bin Turki removed as ambassador to the US. Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz appointed ambassador," the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a royal order.
The young prince's appointment came among a series of royal decrees issued by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud "who shuffled his cabinet, restored civil service benefits, and replaced the head of the army," Naharnet reported.
Who is Prince Khalid Bin Salman?
Prince Khaled – who is reportedly on in his 20s – is an F-15 pilot who was trained in the United States.
He received a Bachelor of Aero Science from King Faisal Air Academy and continued his education at Harvard University in the U.S., earning a certificate for "Senior Executives in National and International Security."
The prince has also studied advanced electronic warfare in Paris.
Upon his graduation from King Faisal Air Academy, he joined the Royal Saudi Air Force, marking the beginning of his career as a pilot.
According to Al Arabiya, the prince is "trained as a fighter pilot with almost 1,000 hours in total flight time."
He has also flown missions "against ISIS as part of the International Coalition" and others over "Yemen as part of Operation Decisive Storm and Operation Renewal of Hope."
Prince Khalid was appointed to the office of the Minister of Defense after his active military duty ended. In 2016, he served as an adviser to the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Washington.
"A boost to U.S.-Saudi relations"
The prince is now the tenth Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States since 1945.
Political analysts welcomed news of his appointment as the new ambassador to Washington and believe the move is a "boost to US-Saudi relations,"according to Arab News.
Saudi sources also told the newspaper that "the incoming ambassador has recently spent more time in Washington, and is familiar with the law of the land following [Donald] Trump’s election last November."