RIYADH, June 16, (Agencies): Saudi Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, a half brother of King Abdullah, died on Saturday, the royal court said, leaving the oil powerhouse with no apparent successor to the throne.

Prince Nayef, a long-serving interior minister, “died outside” Saudi Arabia having recently left the Gulf state for medical treatment, said a statement carried by state media, including Al-Ekhbariyah Television and SPA news agency.

His funeral would be held on Sunday after sunset prayers in the holy city of Makkah in western Saudi Arabia, after his body is repatriated, it added.

The 79-year-old’s death, just eight months after he replaced his late brother crown prince Sultan, raises the issue of succession because of the advanced age of the first line of apparent heirs, at a time of turmoil rocking the Arab world.

King Abdullah himself is 88 and ailing, and nobody is officially in line to replace Nayef.

However, his brother Prince Salman, 76, who took over the portfolio of defence minister after Sultan’s death, appears to be a strong candidate.

The monarch established in 2006 the allegiance council, a body of 30-odd senior princes, as a new succession mechanism aimed in the long term to choose the crown prince.

“No doubt, the new crown prince will be appointed by the allegiance council,” said Anwar Eshqi, head of the Jeddah-based Middle East Centre for Strategic Studies.

“All expectations point to Prince Salman to succeed Prince Nayef for his experience in administration, security and politics,” he said.

But the new commission had not been activated when Nayef was chosen as crown prince, according to political scientist Khaled al-Dakheel, who argued that naming his successor is a chance to put the new body to use.

“Prince Nayef was named under the old system, without activating the allegiance council system,” he said, pointing to the royal decree that established the council and postponed its use until after Abdullah’s death.

“This is a chance to activate the allegiance council system... which provides a legal foundation for a peaceful power transfer within the family and leaves no room for surprises. This is important for state stability,” Dakheel said.

Nayef, who spearheaded Saudi Arabia’s clampdown on al-Qaeda following a wave of attacks in the conservative kingdom between 2003 and 2006, became heir to the throne in October last year.
He was the middle prince of the Sudairi Seven, the formidable bloc of sons of King Abdul Aziz by a favourite wife, Princess Hassa al-Sudairi.

Prince Nayef travelled abroad several times this year for medical reasons, including to Algeria, the United States and Switzerland, where he was shown on television in Geneva three days ago greeting supporters.

The nature of his illness has not been made public.

Less than two weeks ago, his brother Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying in a Saudi daily that the crown prince was in “good health” and would “soon” return to the kingdom.

Destination
On May 26, SPA reported that Prince Nayef had left the country for medical tests abroad for the second time in less than three months, without naming his destination.

In March, the royal palace said he was in Algeria on holiday after the results of medical tests carried out in the US city of Cleveland were reported as “reassuring.”

He returned to Saudi Arabia from Algeria on April 10.

Seen as more conservative than King Abdullah, Prince Nayef was a staunch defender of the Saudi dynasty who resisted any form of opposition.

He ordered and oversaw a fierce crackdown on al-Qaeda, forcing the jihadist group’s leaders and militants to flee to Yemen, from where they continue to threaten Saudi interests.

As interior minister, Prince Nayef also dismantled charitable organisations that collected donations for the terror network.

He was known to be close to the religious establishment, and has opposed introducing elections to vote in members of the all-appointed consultative council, as well as being against allowing women to vote in municipal elections.

During his 37 years as interior minister, Nayef also made sure that women were not allowed to drive, decreeing in 1990, following a daring demonstration in cars by 47 Saudi women, that women were banned from getting behind the wheel.

Mourning
HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah declared a three-day mourning period as of Sunday in the wake of the passing of Prince Nayef.

Earlier, the Amir sent a cable of condolences to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud expressing his heartfelt sorrow over the loss of Prince Nayef.

HH the Amir described the deceased as “a dear brother,” whom he had “great admiration and respect” for.

Further, the Amir recalled the stellar record of the deceased in the service of his country as well as the Arab and Islamic nations, noting the deceased’s penchant for contributing boundlessly to any cause of benevolence to the Saudi people and the Muslim people worldwide.

Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables of condolences.

Kuwait Information Minister Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah Mubarak Al-Sabah expressed deep grief and sorrow over the demise of Prince Nayef, recalling with appreciation the honorable stances of the deceased Saudi prince, especially during Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

“We condole ourselves and the Saudi leadership and people over the loss of Crown Prince Nayef and pray to God Almighty to rest his soul and grant his family and loved ones patience,” Sheikh Mohammad said in statements to KUNA.

“The deceased Prince Nayef had close ties with Kuwaiti leadership and people over the past decades,” Sheikh Mohammad said, praising his honorable stance during the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait.

He noted that Prince Nayef, in his capacity as the interior minister, had offered all help and facilitated Kuwaitis’ entry to Saudi Arabia in this critical time to help them overcome their ordeal.

Sheikh Mohammad recalled the great efforts made by the deceased to combat terrorism and curb its spread in the region.

“In few years, he became one of the heroes of the war on terror, the scourge that threatened the Arab and Muslim societies and the entire world,” he said.

Sheikh Mohammad expressed his hope that everybody would benefit from the memorable achievements and contributions of the late Prince Nayef.

Deputy Premier, Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah also expressed deepest condolences for the passing away of Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz.

The State of Kuwait lost “a dear brother and a faithful supporter,” said Sabah said in a statement.
Sheikh Sabah paid tribute to Prince Nayef’s contributions to Saudi Arabia, noting that his meetings with the deceased when he was Kuwait’s Ambassador in Riyadh reflected his “valued vision.” Prince Nayef had made many contributions to boosting security and stability in Arab Gulf countries, he said.

Sheikh Sabah extended his condolences to the Saudi leadership, government and people on the death of Prince Nayef.

President Barack Obama offered condolences on Saturday on the death of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Nayef, praising him for helping to build a US-Saudi partnership on counterterrorism.

Obama said Nayef, who had been next in line to rule the world’s top oil exporter, had for decades “dedicated himself to the security of Saudi Arabia as well as security throughout the region.”

“Under his leadership, the United States and Saudi Arabia developed a strong and effective partnership in the fight against terrorism, one that has saved countless American and Saudi lives,” Obama said in a statement issued while on a visit to his home town, Chicago. “On behalf of the American people, I would like to offer my deepest condolences to King Abdullah, the royal family, and the people of Saudi Arabia.
Anointed

Saudi Arabia’s Defence Minister Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, seen as more moderate than his deceased brother Prince Nayef is likely to be anointed heir to the throne of the world’s top oil exporter.
Although the choice of a new crown prince must be confirmed by a family allegiance council, analysts said it would be highly surprising if Salman, now 76, was passed over.

“The most obvious candidate is Prince Salman,” said Saudi politics professor Khalid al-Dakhil.
If appointed, he is likely to shoulder much of the burden of state immediately, given that King Abdullah is already 89.

An imposing figure, Salman controls one of the Arab world’s largest media groups.

He believes that democracy is ill-suited to the conservative kingdom and advocates a cautious approach to social and cultural reform, according to a 2007 US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.

A familiar figure to the kingdom’s top ally — the United States — he is someone with whom Washington would be comfortable doing business.

“It appeared to me he had a good handle on the delicate balancing act he had to do to move society forward while being respectful of its traditions and conservative ways,” said Robert Jordan who was US ambassador in Riyadh from 2001-03.

“He doesn’t blindly accept everything the United States says, but at the same time he understands the importance of the relationship, which goes beyond oil,” Jordan added.

After nearly 50 years as governor of Riyadh province, Prince Salman now controls the big-spending Defence Ministry.

The ministry has long used arms purchases to turn the Saudi armed forces into one of the best equipped in the Middle East and to bolster ties with allies such as the United States, Britain and France.
Since being named defence minister last year, he has been to both Washington and London, meeting President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron.

A family insider, Salman has been part of the inner circle of the al-Saud ruling family, which founded and still dominates the desert kingdom in alliance with conservative religious clerics, for decades.

In a royal family that bases its right to rule on its guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites in Makkah and Madinah, Salman is reputed to be devout but relatively outward-looking.

“He’s not extravagant, whether in his personal life or professionally,” said Khaled Almaeena, editor-in-chief of Saudi Gazette, who has known Salman personally for more than three decades.

“He’s not a spendthrift and makes sure public money is spent well on projects. If you go to his office he’s there every morning meeting people. He has a knack of remembering people and events... He has travelled abroad a lot and is very well read and is very well versed in dealing with the tribes.”

Governor
From 1962 until last year, Salman served as governor of Riyadh, a position that meant he has had more to do with foreign governments than many senior royals.

That role saw him arbitrating disputes between quarreling members of the ruling family, putting him at the centre of the kingdom’s most important power structure.

In a meeting with the US ambassador in March 2007, described in a cable released by WikiLeaks, Salman said the social and cultural reforms instigated by King Abdullah had to move slowly for fear of a conservative backlash.
He also argued against the introduction of democracy in the kingdom, citing regional and tribal divisions, and told the ambassador that a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict was necessary for Middle East stability.

“He is liberal in his personal life and moderate in politics, he can’t be called a liberal because he holds some conservative values,” said a source close to the Saudi royals.

“He is a very balanced character, so moderate is the best word to describe him,” the source added.
With his strong bearded features, Salman is the prince who is said to more closely resemble his father, King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, than any of his brothers.

Backed by a small group of followers inspired by an austere vision of Islam, Ibn Saud recaptured his family’s old stronghold of Riyadh in 1902, launching a three-decade campaign of conquest that carved out the modern borders of a kingdom founded in 1932.

Salman is one of the so-called “Sudairi seven” — the brothers born to Ibn Saud by his favourite wife Hassa bint Ahmed al-Sudairi.

His full brothers in a family of more than 30 half-brothers include the late King Fahd and Crown Prince Sultan, Nayef and Prince Ahmed, the deputy interior minister.
Salman was born in 1935 in Riyadh, then a mud brick oasis deep in the interior of a new kingdom that had not yet discovered oil, depending instead on revenue from pilgrims to Makkah and Madinah, date farming and camel herding.

Yet one son, Prince Sultan bin Salman, became the first Arab astronaut, flying on the US space shuttle Discovery in 1985.

Prince Sultan is now the kingdom’s tourism minister while another son, Prince Abdulaziz, is the deputy oil minister.

In his five decades administering Riyadh and its surroundings, Salman oversaw the development of the capital from a large desert town into a metropolis of 4.6 million people.

He was taught in the “princes’ school” set up in Ibn Saud’s palace by the imam of the Grand Mosque of Makkah, signalling the importance that Ibn Saud attached to the centrality of pure Islamic belief in the kingdom he created.

Succession
To outsiders, the al-Saud ruling family’s succession process often appears opaque. But behind the ornate doors of Riyadh’s palaces, the senior princes in a family thousands strong have long planned the next step in a complex dance of power.
Unlike in European monarchies, the line of royal succession in Saudi Arabia does not move directly from father to eldest son, but is passed down a line of brothers born to the kingdom’s founder King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, who died in 1953.

So far, five brothers have become kings and around 20 are still alive.

But only a few of those are thought to be realistic candidates to rule the country where Islam was born some 14 centuries ago. Some have already been passed over or renounced their claims to rule.
“The inner circle of the al-Saud (family) can and do exclude from succession those found lacking in lineage, leadership and personal character,” said an American embassy assessment of the succession process as detailed in a 1995 diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks.

Under rules drawn up soon after Abdullah, the current monarch, became king in 2005, succession decisions lie with an “allegiance council” of the ruling al-Saud family.

When a king dies, his crown prince accedes to power and nominates a new crown prince.
The allegiance council, which has 34 princely members who each represent the family of a son of Ibn Saud, votes to approve the king’s choice and has the power to elect its own nominee.

The council swore allegiance to Nayef as crown prince after the death of his predecessor Prince Sultan
last year, but it was unclear if it actually voted.

While the next stage of the power planning transfer process appears straightforward and uncontroversial, there will be keen interest in how the council handles more complex succession decisions in the future.

To avert a repeat of the situation that unfolded after King Fahd fell ill, when Abdullah’s leadership was undermined by his ambiguous position as de facto regent without the formal title, the council has the power to remove a king or crown prince who is too sick to rule.

Given that Abdullah is nearly 90, the clause might prove an important failsafe in a country where power emanates from the top.

The next prince presumed to be in line for power is Prince Salman, who was made defence minister in November after Sultan’s death, cementing his role near the top of the family hierarchy.

To many analysts, the key question is what will happen when the succession moves beyond the sons of Ibn Saud to one of his grandsons.

That decision might not be made for some years, but outside observers already see the emergence of a handful of contenders who appear better qualified to rule than their cousins.

There are no formal rules to dictate how the generational transition will be made other than through Abdullah’s allegiance council. But any candidate would need broad support among the family as well as a strong record of political experience.

That might point to one of the Sudairis, such as Fahd’s son Mohammed, who is governor of the Eastern Province, Sultan’s son Khaled, who is deputy defence minister, or Nayef’s son Mohammed, who as deputy interior minister was partly responsible for the successful suppression of an al-Qaeda uprising six years ago.

Salman’s son Sultan is the tourism minister and was the first Arab astronaut.

Another potential candidate among the third generation is Prince Khaled al-Faisal, son of the former King Faisal and the well regarded governor of Mecca Province, one of the most prestigious jobs in the country.

Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the son of the present king, has inherited his father’s position as head of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a military unit that is separate from the ordinary armed forces whose role is to protect the kingdom from coups d’etats.