Special to WorldTribune.com

ABU DHABI — Saudi Arabia has named one of the last surviving sons of
the kingdom’s founder as defense minister.

King Abdullah has named Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, 76, the kingdom’s
defense minister. Salman, the longtime governor of Riyad, would succeed the
late Crown Prince Sultan, who held the defense portfolio since 1962.

“The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al
Saud, today issued a royal decree relieving Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al
Saud of his post as governor of Riyad region and appointing him as defense
minister,” the statement on Nov. 5 said.

The statement said Sultan’s son, Prince Khalid, would remain
deputy defense minister. In late October, Khalid was said to have been told
that he would not be promoted.

Salman is one of the last surviving sons of Saudi founder Abdul Aziz.
The prince is also a full brother of another surviving son, Interior
Minister Prince Nayef, who on Oct. 28 was appointed crown prince.

Western diplomats said Salman would use his extensive foreign
connections to build defense and military cooperation with Saudi allies.
They said the new defense minister was expected to consult regularly with
Khalid, who took over the daily functions of the Defense Ministry amid
Sultan’s prolonged illness.

“On the other hand, the royal decree also appointed Prince Khalid Bin
Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz as deputy minister of defense at the rank of
minister,” the official Saudi Press Agency said.

Abdullah also ordered that the Defense Ministry, which had been called
the Ministry of Defense, Aviation and General Inspection, shed its civil
aviation functions. Salman was replaced by Prince Sattam Bin Abdul Aziz as
governor of Riyad, a position that had been previously held by others who
rose to the position of crown prince.

  76, Crown Prince Sultan, Defense Ministry, King Abdullah, named Saudi defense minister, Prince Khalid, Prince Salman, Saudi Arabia