Atlantic Council Hosts Event on Significant New Book on Saudi Crown Prince
The author, Karen Elliott House, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has focused on Saudi Arabia and the Middle East throughout her career.
The Atlantic Council held an event today with author Karen Elliott House to discuss her new book, The Man Who Would Be King: Mohammed bin Salman and the Transformation of Saudi Arabia.
The book is set to be the authoritative profile of MBS, who has emerged from being a young, unknown prince in the Saudi royal family to transformative leader in his country and the world.
The discussion was hosted by Jonathan Panikoff, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, and moderated by Vivian Nereim, the Gulf bureau chief for The New York Times.
House is a former managing editor and publisher of The Wall Street Journal. She currently is a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs, a board member of RAND Corporation, and an executive committee member of the Trilateral Commission. A previous book by House is On Saudi Arabia: Its People, Past, Religion, Fault Lines — and Future. She won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the Middle East earlier in her career.
In the discussion with Nereim, House provides insights into MBS’ personality and how he approaches his work. Under his leadership, Saudi Arabia has been modernizing as a country, courting world and business leaders, and investing significantly in projects within its own country and around the world.
House describes MBS as driven, ambitious, determined, dynamic, confident, charismatic, and forthcoming. He has a good grasp on his kingdom’s economy and investments, and wants to ensure they are properly run. House has known MBS for around a decade, from when she previously conducted interviews with his father.
The crown prince could become king at any time, as his father is nearly 90 years old. Saudi Arabia is set to serve as G20 president next year, giving the kingdom and MBS a platform to further showcase its country and advance their position in the world.
The Atlantic Council was founded in 1961 and supports U.S. leadership and engagement in the world to shape solutions to global challenges.
Watch the full event here.