Defense minister named new crown prince, heir to Saudi Arabian throne

The choice was expected, but the speed of the royal decree was not — just a day after the burial of the late crown prince, Prince Nayef, who died last week in Geneva and was in the No. 2 position only since November.

Prince Salman, 76, is now the third successor for the 88-year-old King Abdullah in the past year.

It reflects the issues of health and age that will one day turn control of OPEC's top oil exporter over to a younger generation. Yet it also displays the preference for cautious steps by ruling House of Saud, which must balance its role as one of the West's main Middle East allies with its need to appease the ultraconservative religious establishment that gives the monarchy its legitimacy in the land of Islam's holiest sites.

In Washington, President Barack Obama issued a statement praising Salman as “a man of deep faith who is committed to improving the lives of the people of Saudi Arabia and to the security of the region.” Obama wrote, “The United States looks forward to continuing our strong relationship with Crown Prince Salman in his new capacity as we deepen the longstanding partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia.”

SHARE CLOSE
Blogger		Google+
Live Journal		Plurk
Stumble Upon

Tweet

	PREVIOUS ARTICLE
	Pakistani singer who escaped Taliban killed

NEXT ARTICLE
US man gets life in prison for dismembering girl

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email

Submit