SAUDI ARABIA’S powerful interior minister Prince Nayef is set to be named crown prince following the demise of Sultan, the heir to the throne, who died early on Saturday while receiving cancer treatment in the US.
Sultan (85), half-brother of King Abdullah, was the deputy prime minister and defence minister. He had gone abroad for medical care and recuperation in early 2009.
He had promoted the Saudi alliance with the US for half a century and had overseen Riyadh’s construction of military bases and the purchase of large quantities of weapons from the US and UK.
US president Barack Obama said Sultan “was a strong supporter of the deep and enduring partnership between our two countries forged almost seven decades ago”.
During Sultan’s absence, his full brother Prince Nayef, the powerful interior minister, was chosen as deputy prime minister, indicating the line of succession set by King Abdullah (88), who recently underwent back surgery.
The appointment is expected to be approved by the “Allegiance Council” consisting of sons and grandsons of Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud, founder of the kingdom and monarchy who died in 1953.
Since his sons are elderly, the council could soon have to choose a grandson to serve as crown prince, making the transition from one generation to the next.
Sultan was the 18th of 43 sons of Aziz Ibn Saud and the second of seven sons borne by his favourite wife, Hassa al-Sudairi, whose progeny, known as the “Sudairi Seven”, form a powerful clique in the Saudi royal family. Its members have always held senior positions. The late King Fahd, Abdullah’s predecessor, was a Sudairi.
Nayef (77) took up the interior portfolio in 1975. In charge of the kingdom’s security forces and police, he has directed crackdowns on al-Qaeda and dissident Shias in the oil-rich eastern province. Nayef was also among those responsible for deploying Saudi troops to Bahrain in March to suppress demonstrations mounted by the country’s Shia majority demanding democratic reforms of the Sunni ruling family.
Since Nayef is close to the kingdom’s conservative clerics, there is concern he could stall cautious reforms introduced by King Abdullah, risking the alienation of young Saudis eager for change.
The post of defence minister is likely to be assumed by Sultan’s son and deputy, Prince Khaled.
