RIYADH – Salman bin Abdulaziz has become Saudi Arabia’s king and Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz was declared the Crown Prince after king Abdullah bin Abdulaziz passed away early on Friday at the age of 90.
Here follows a short biography of Saudi Arabia new king.
Salman bin Abdulaziz is Abdullah’s third heir to the throne who was named crown prince in June 2012 after two elder brothers died in late 2011 and mid-2012.
As the new King of Saudi Arabia, home to 28 million people, he will also serve as Prime Minister and Defence Minister.
Salman was governor of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, for nearly five decades since 1968.
Being a long time governor of the capital, Salman has a reputation as a progressive and practical prince similar in bearing to his late brother.
"He had to be a combination ... of a reformer, of a judge, a jury in some cases, and deal with dissent, as well as dealing with economic issues," Robert Jordan, a former US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told CNN.
"So I think he's well prepared for the task at hand."
Salman's experience running Riyadh also involved keeping many of the numerous members of the Saudi royal family in line.
"Since most of the royal princes and princesses live in Riyadh, he was also the family sheriff, ensuring any transgressions were dealt with smoothly and quietly, with no publicity," said Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Centre for Middle East Policy, said in a commentary
Salman "has been chairing cabinet meetings for several months and handling almost all foreign travel responsibilities for the monarchy since he became the heir in 2012," Riedel, who worked for the CIA for 30 years, said.
In Saudi system of succession, the Saudi throne has passed between the sons of King Abdulaziz, who founded modern-day Saudi Arabia in 1932.
His sons Saud, Faisal, Khalid and Fahd each became king in the 20th century; Abdullah took the throne when Fahd died in 2005.
The transition is expected to be a smooth one, with little instability and no long-term policy changes.
But the 79-year-old has reportedly been in poor health in recent years, and is perhaps unlikely to rule for as long as his elder sibling.
King Salman’s crown prince will be his younger brother Prince Muqrin, the youngest surviving son of King Abdulaziz, who was named deputy crown prince last year when the kingdom acted to set in stone its structure for the future.
Muqrin is said, like the new King, to be committed to cautious reforms.
Time Magazine
