Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Defense Minister Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz has been
named the next crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

Salman, 76, was named heir to the crown on June 18 two days after the
death of his predecessor and brother, Nayef.

The appointment of Salman, who retained his post as defense minister, was expected.

“The custodian of the two holy mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud issued a royal order today, choosing Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz as crown prince and appointing him as deputy premier and minister of defense,” the official Saudi Press Agency said.

The royal decree issued on June 18 said Nayef, interior minister since
1975, was succeeded by Salman’s brother, Prince Ahmed, 71. Nayef’s son, Mohammed, regarded as the architect of the kingdom’s counter-insurgency policy, had been expected to become interior minister.

Salman has been regarded as the last functioning member of the Saudi leadership. The new crown prince has been described as an effective administrator and disciplinarian of the 7,000 Saudi princes.

In an unrelated development, Kuwait, amid rising tension, has suspended
parliament. Emir Sabah Al Ahmad said the suspension would last a month and
be used to foster cooperation between the government and the new Islamist
parliament.

  76, custodian of the two holy mosques, Defense Minister Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir Sabah Al Ahmad, King Abdullah, Kuwaiti parliament, named heir to the Saudi crown, Prince Ahmed, Prince Salman