Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Green Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Afghan Journal
Africa Journal
India Insight
Global News Journal
Pakistan: Now or Never?
World Video
Politics
Politics Home
Front Row Washington
Politics Video
Technology
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
Breakingviews
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Gregg Easterbrook
Nader Mousavizadeh
James Saft
David Cay Johnston
Edward Hadas
Christopher Whalen
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Newsmaker
Money
Money Home
Analyst Research
Global Investing
MuniLand
Reuters Money Blog
John Wasik
Unstructured Finance
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Life & Culture
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Left Field
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Article
Comments (0)
Full Focus
Editor's choice
Our best photos from the weekend. Full Article
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Obama to announce actions on housing, student loans
8:03am EDT
Vatican calls for global authority on economy, raps “idolatry of the market”
9:08am EDT
U.S. pulls its envoy from Syria because of threats
11:36am EDT
Libya "liberated," but Gaddafi still unburied
|
11:06am EDT
Caterpillar remains cautious as earnings soar
10:43am EDT
Discussed
200
Obama to announce help on housing, student loans
159
Gaddafi captured as he fled Sirte: NTC official
125
Strike shuts down Greece before austerity vote
Watched
Libya officially declares liberation.
Sun, Oct 23 2011
The hunt for Gaddafi in 60 seconds
Thu, Oct 20 2011
Hundreds feared dead in Turkey quake
Sun, Oct 23 2011
Prince's death sets challenge to ageing Saudi royals
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Saudi Arabia's Interior Minister Prince Nayef attends a news conference in Mecca in this December 26, 2006 file photo. Prince Nayef is now likely to become heir to the throne after the death of Crown Prince Sultan. The royal court announced the death of Prince Sultan, who was thought to be aged about 86, in New York of colon cancer at dawn on October 22, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Ali Jarekji/Files
Factbox
Factbox: Key players in the ruling Saudi family
Sun, Oct 23 2011
Related News
Saudi Arabia prepares for funeral of Crown Prince
Sun, Oct 23 2011
WRAPUP 2-Saudi King prepares key appointments after heir dies
Sun, Oct 23 2011
Saudi Crown Prince Sultan dies
Sat, Oct 22 2011
Saudi King Abdullah leaves hospital
Sat, Oct 22 2011
Analysis & Opinion
What to wear for an Indonesian royal wedding
Who among the seven longest serving African leaders will be deposed next?
Related Topics
World »
Saudi Arabia »
By Angus McDowall
DUBAI |
Mon Oct 24, 2011 10:59am EDT
DUBAI (Reuters) - The death of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Sultan sets the stage for an eventual generational shift in the aging leadership of the world's top oil exporter, even if King Abdullah picks 77-year-old Prince Nayef to succeed him.
At stake is the direction of a U.S. ally attempting to reconcile its conservative traditions with the needs of a modern economy and a young, increasingly outward-looking population.
Saudi Arabia, which dominates world oil markets and holds profound influence over Muslims through its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, faces turbulence in its neighbors and a confrontation with regional rival Iran.
King Abdullah appears set to appoint veteran Interior Minister Prince Nayef as crown prince and heir, but his choice of a defense minister to replace Sultan, who died in New York on Saturday, may signal how the conservative Islamic state manages the transition to its future leaders.
King Abdullah, Sultan and Nayef have run the country since the late King Fahd fell ill in 1995, but the monarch is in his late 80s and has spent three months abroad this year recovering from a back problem that again required surgery last week.
He remains firmly in control of the kingdom, but the focus will increasingly fall on Nayef and some younger princes.
Chief among them is Prince Salman, the Riyadh Governor who is a full brother of Sultan and Nayef and is seen as next most important in a ruling family that has prized seniority since it was founded by King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud in 1932.
"This all points to the key role of Prince Salman, who sooner or later will move up to crown prince," said a former diplomat to Riyadh who wished to remain anonymous.
"He will be the one who really decides whether the succession will stay horizontal among the sons of Ibn Saud or go vertical to one of the grandsons."
PRINCE NAYEF
If the enigmatic Nayef becomes crown prince, his character will shape for years to come the way Saudi Arabia tackles a host of challenges at a time of unprecedented change, both for the kingdom and the wider Middle East.
"Nayef had some time with Sultan's long illness to run himself in as crown prince and he has acted on behalf of the king," said another former diplomat. "He has become acquainted with authority across the board."
To Saudi liberals, Nayef represents the stern face of the conservative establishment: opposed to any moves toward democracy or women's rights, a supporter of the religious police and the veteran head of an Interior Ministry that locks up political activists without charge.
"I'm very worried that Prince Nayef will be the next crown prince," said a 47-year-old woman who did not give her name. "I fear that reform plans will not go forward if he takes power."
Nayef was quoted soon after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States as doubting that any of his compatriots had been involved when 15 of the 19 hijackers were in fact Saudis.
However, former diplomats, local journalists and royal family members who have dealt with him paint a softer portrait of a man at the center of Saudi politics for over three decades.
"Many things are said about Prince Nayef, but I find him to be a very kind man with a foot on the ground by meeting people," said Khaled al-Maeena, editor at large of the Arab News daily in Jeddah. "He has the pulse of the nation."
Reforms enacted by King Abdullah have aimed to strengthen private sector growth and loosen the grip of conservative clerics on the education system and judiciary.
"I don't think the gloom and doom about Nayef is justified," said the former diplomat. "You have to realize that Saudi Arabia is run by a coalition. It's not an autocracy run by one man."
During the long illness of Sultan and absences of the king, Nayef stood in for his elder brothers, meeting world leaders and managing the kingdom's day-to-day affairs.
"I don't think there will be a substantial change of direction," said Hossein Shobokshi, a columnist for the state-owned news channel Al Arabiya. "The country has always opted for the non-surprising method. So we don't see any big decisions in policy."
People familiar with him also point out that, as interior minister, Nayef interacts with normal Saudis more frequently than any other senior prince, dealing with the problems of individual citizens in matters ranging from crime to poverty.
RESHUFFLE
The simultaneous changes of both the crown prince and defense minister might prompt a wider cabinet reshuffle, said analysts, although Abdullah's actions might be constrained by the need to maintain a balance between senior princes.
"Doing a cabinet reshuffle in Saudi Arabia is like Sudoku," said an analyst who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject. "You think you have solved it and then, whoops, the nine is in the wrong place."
Two possible candidates for the Defense Ministry are Prince Khaled bin Sultan, who has been his father's deputy there since 2001, and Prince Salman.
The choice of a son or grandson of Ibn Saud will indicate how quickly the Saud family plans to transfer power to a younger generation of princes who have long jockeyed for position.
Last year King Abdullah gave up his role as head of the National Guard to his son, Prince Miteb. Nayef's son, Prince Mohammed, has long been tipped to succeed him as interior minister.
ALLEGIANCE
As condolences came in from figures as diverse as Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, King Abdullah was expected to summon the Allegiance Council, a family body he set up in 1996 to regulate the succession.
Two council members, Prince Salman and Sultan's son and Deputy Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan, were expected to return with Sultan's body from New York on Monday night.
Sultan's funeral will be held on Tuesday before the afternoon prayer in the conservative Islamic state and his body will then be taken away for burial.
A guest list had not been released on Monday afternoon.
"The name (of his successor) hasn't been announced yet because this time we have a procedure called the Allegiance Council," said Jamal Khashoggi, head of a new television news channel set up by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.
"The king wants to go through this procedure and is waiting for Prince Salman and Prince Khaled bin Sultan to come back to Riyadh."
It would be the first time that the untested council has been used to approve a king's choice of crown prince, a reform Abdullah introduced to ensure an orderly succession in a ruling family that has thousands of members and dozens of branches.
Royal succession does not move directly from monarch to offspring, but has passed down a line of brothers born to the kingdom's founder King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, who died in 1953.
(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif in Riyadh; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
World
Saudi Arabia
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.