King Salman has been in power since January 2015. He is considered the last Saudi monarch of his generation of brothers who have held power since the death of their father and founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz. The king serves as an absolute monarch of Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s top oil producers and the site of the holiest sites of Islam. Since taking the throne, Saudi Arabia has granted women the right to drive and disempowered the country’s religious police, loosening mores in the ultraconservative Sunni kingdom. ADHowever, Saudi Arabia has been widely criticized internationally over its conduct during its war in Yemen.

Source: Washington Post July 23, 2020 12:19 UTC