ern's: Prince Sultan's death fuels debate about who will succeed to the Saudi throne

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Prince Sultan's death fuels debate about who will succeed to the Saudi throne

Ultraconservative Prince Nayef, who was behind suppression of protests in neighbouring Bahrain, becomes likely successor

The death of the heir to the Saudi throne, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz al Saud, has led to an urgent debate over the succession in the oil-rich state.

Sultan, who was in his 80s, had been undergoing treatment for colon cancer in New York, although Saudi TV, which announced the death today, only said he had died "abroad".

The younger half-brother of Saudi Arabia's frail and ailing leader, King Abdullah, Sultan was also deputy prime minister and defence minister, in charge of one of the biggest arms budgets in the world. He leaves multiple widows and 32 children.

The most likely candidate to replace him as Abdullah's successor is Prince Nayef, a member of the most powerful of the Saudi ruling families.

Nayef, 78, is the Saudi interior minister, in charge of the security forces, and is close to Islamic ultra-conservatives. He was directly involved in the decision in March to send soldiers into neighbouring Bahrain to help crush pro-reform demonstrations.

Abdullah gave Nayef the position of second deputy prime minister, traditionally the post of the second in line to the throne.

But for the first time the mechanism of picking the next crown prince is in doubt as the king could hand over the decision to the Allegiance Council, created as part of Saudi Arabia's tentative reforms, and consisting of his male relatives. That would open the process up, although observers expect Nayef to be the favourite there as well.

Saudi Arabia has been ruled since 1953 by the children of its founder, King Abdul-Aziz, who had more than 40 sons. But that generation is ageing and secrecy surrounds their health. It was an American diplomatic cable, reported through WikiLeaks, that revealed Sultan was incapacitated with illness.

Abdullah had surgery last week, said to be on his back. The palace said that the king, with "deep sorrow" mourns "the loss of his brother". The statement, on the official Saudi Press Agency, added that the funeral would be held in Riyadh.

Prince Charles sent his condolences in a letter to the Saudi king. The foreign secretary, William Hague, said that he was saddened to hear of the death. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, called Sultan a "good friend to the United States".

It is not known what effects any succession would have on recent reforms to allow women to vote in 2015.

Tracy McVeigh