Amid rumors on the deteriorated health conditions of King Fahd, Riyadh: authority transfer will be simple
Saudi Arabia, Politics, 2/9/2005

Rumors over the health conditions of King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia have ever raised doubts on what conditions will be in Saudi Arabia, however, western diplomats expect a smooth succession that will not affect the stability of the kingdom.

Laws enforced in Saudi Arabia indicate that Crown Prince Abdullah, half brother of the King, will assume the throne and the defense minister Prince Sultan will be the next crown prince.

One Saudi official said the "succession will be smooth and simple. There will be no change." But as the majority of diplomats predict a smooth transfer of authority in the near future, the kingdom might face problems of what is called the generation of younger princes to the authority. Those say that there is no distinct successor from the young generation. Since the foundation of the kingdom in 1932, the King and the family appointed the successor according to the principle of "an inheritor and a reserve." It is an established fact that the Saudi kings assumes the throne after they take the oath of loyalty before a family royal council composed of 18 princes. This is a tradition in a Kingdom whose constitution is the holy Koran and the saying of the prophet.

The succession ceremony might take one day, but according to tradition, the appointed Ummah council should announce the authority transfer legally. It is known that Crown Prince Abdullah (81 year old) has been running the affairs of the Kingdom since the King had a stroke just one decade ago.

One western diplomat said that the "crown prince, when he becomes a king will not change policies of the Kingdom... will not shake the ship," adding that "King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah have two different characters but not different policies."

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