Salman of Saudi Arabia, King of Saudi Arabia
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود Salmān ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd, [salˈmaːn ben ˈʕabd alʕaˈziːz ʔaːl saˈʕuːd]; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 23 January 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 16 June 2012 to 23 January 2015. He is the 25th son of King Abdulaziz and the sixth of his sons who have reigned as kings (the others were Saud, Faisal, Khalid, Fahd, and Abdullah).
Salman is a son of King Abdulaziz and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, making him one of the Sudairi Seven. He was the deputy governor of Riyadh and later the governor of Riyadh for 48 years from 1963 to 2011. He was then appointed minister of defense. He was named crown prince in 2012. Salman became king in 2015 upon the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. Since December 2019, he is the oldest surviving son of King Abdulaziz.
Salman's major initiatives as king include the Saudi intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, Saudi Vision 2030, and a 2017 decree allowing Saudi women to drive. His son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is considered the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.