Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – King Fahd, who moved Saudi Arabia closer to the United States but ruled the nation in name only since suffering a stroke in 1995, died today, and his half brother was quickly named to replace him. The first change in the throne in 23 years uncorked a jockeying for position in the world’s largest oil producer.
The newly appointed monarch, 81-year-old Crown Prince Abdullah, has been the kingdom’s effective ruler for 10 years and is the main force behind unprecedented reform steps and a two-year crackdown on al-Qaida-linked militants.
Abdullah, now officially king, will likely try to move his allies into key positions and push forward on reform and anti-terror tracks. But he must tread carefully: A clan of his half brothers in Saudi Arabia’s sprawling royal family hold key defense and security posts and may resist swift change.
“With all sorrow and sadness, the royal court in the name of his highness Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz and all members of the family announces the death of the custodian of the two holy mosques, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz,” according to a statement read on state-run Saudi TV.
Fahd died at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, where he was admitted on May 27 for unspecified tests.
The White House was informed of Fahd’s death about 2:30 a.m.
President Bush was told when he began his work day in the Oval Office about 7 a.m., spokesman Scott McClellan said. He said Bush called Abdullah and expressed condolences over Fahd’s death and congratulations on his accession.
Saudi television, which said the king was 84, broke with regular broadcasting to announce Fahd’s death. Quranic verse recitals followed the announcement by the information minister, Iyad bin Amin Madani, whose voice wavered with emotion as he read the statement.
By this afternoon, hotels were packed as Saudis flocked to the capital to express their condolences and congratulate the new king.
Abdullah asked regional governors to accept the people’s good wishes on his behalf to spare them the ordeal of traveling in temperatures hovering close to 122 degrees.
Crude oil prices soared past $61 a barrel Monday as markets reacted to Fahd’s death. The Saudi Stock market closed after the news.
Arab nations announced mourning periods, an Arab summit in Cairo was postponed and Mideast leaders prepared to attend memorial ceremonies for Fahd scheduled for Tuesday. The leaders, including Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Jordan’s King Abdullah, were to attend prayers in the afternoon, then head to Riyadh’s al-Oud cemetery for the burial.
The Saudi ambassador to Britain, Prince Turki bin al-Faisal, said Fahd’s death won’t change oil policy.
“The crown prince, who has become king, worked closely with the late king in implementing the policies of Saudi Arabia both externally and internally,” al-Faisal told a news conference in London. “So I cannot imagine that there will be any particular change in that policy but rather a continuation.” Abdullah is a popular leader who has been the kingdom’s effective ruler for 10 years and is the main force behind an unprecedented reform drive.
Sticking to tradition, Abdullah immediately appointed his half brother, Defense Minister Prince Sultan, 77, as his crown prince and successor.
That move keeps the throne among the sons of Abdul-Aziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. But while Abdullah and Sultan appear in good health, the advancing age of their generation means the next – made up of dozens of Western-educated, technology-savvy princes – is already wrangling over the line of succession.
Abdullah may find himself in a behind-the-scenes contest to maneuver his sons into position, while the close-knit circle of his half brothers, including Prince Sultan, the powerful interior minister, and the governor of Riyadh, does the same. The circle of brothers – known as the Sudeiri Seven, after their mother – have long dominated the main positions in the kingdom.
Sultan and others in the Sudeiri Seven are seen as somewhat more resistant to change, with stronger links to the hard-line Islamic clerical establishment.
The choice of Sultan is a sign that deep-rooted reform – which diplomats and analysts say is the only way the ruling Al Saud dynasty can ensure its survival – has been placed on the back burner as Abdullah pursues change at his own pace.
Fahd, Abdullah, Sultan and all the 42 sons of Saudi Arabia’s founder had only a rudimentary education in the era before oil riches flooded the kingdom.
The newer generation grew up in wealth, with greater technology and contact with the West – typified by Sultan’s urbane son, Prince Bandar, who was Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States until he stepped down to return home two weeks ago.
Saudi Arabia faces the challenges of liberalizing its ailing economy and satisfying many Saudis’ desire for greater freedom and more say in politics. It must tame radical religious elements so the royal family’s role as guardian of Islam’s holy places will not be challenged.
And, it must battle violent extremists who many people believe have been encouraged by the preachings of the religious establishment and its strict Wahhabi Muslim philosophy.
Unlike Fahd, Abdullah did not see the fate of his kingdom intertwined with the decades-old alliance with the United States.
But once he became the de facto ruler, he was pragmatic enough to preserve close U.S. ties.
He understood he had to initiate changes in his country after the Sept. 11 attacks, carried out by 19 Arab hijackers, 15 of them Saudi. U.S. and Western pressure for Saudi reform was immense.
Fahd, meanwhile, was sidelined after suffering the debilitating stroke in 1995 that confined him mainly to a figurehead role. Since taking power in 1983, he steered Saudi Arabia firmly toward the United States, allowing American troops to deploy on Saudi soil during the 1990 Gulf War, a move that angered conservatives.
He helped the United States fund Islamic mujahedeen fighters battling the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. He tried to bolster his Islamic credentials, taking the title “Custodian of the Two Holy Shrines” – Mecca and Medina, Islam’s two holiest cities, in western Saudi Arabia.
He later realized the danger of one of those mujahedeen leaders, Osama bin Laden, stripping him of his Saudi citizenship in the 1990s.
