Special to WorldTribune.com
WASHINGTON — Defense Minister Prince Salman was expected to become
the next king of Saudi Arabia, a report said.
Foreign Policy asserted that Salman, appointed defense minister in
November 2011, is the last survivor of a Saudi ruling elite ravaged by
age and illness.
The 76-year-old has been conducting Saudi Arabia’s defense
and foreign policy in wake of the stroke by Crown Prince Nayef.
“Although there is no fixed succession plan if that comes to pass, the
newly-minted defense minister, Prince Salman, looks well placed to ascend to the throne,” the report, titled “The Man Who Would Be King,” said.
Authored by Simon Henderson, the report asserted that the Saudi royal family could order major changes in the leadership over the next year. Henderson, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said Salman could be selected to succeed King Abdullah.
“Saudi Arabia’s ruling clique is dying off, and it may be up to the new
defense minister to guide the kingdom through a turbulent Middle East,” the
report said. “The senior members of the Saudi royal family are looking
increasingly frail, and the buzz in the Gulf is that there will be not just
one, but two, changes in the kingdom’s leadership during the course of the
next year.”
The report cited Nayef’s absence from Saudi Arabia, when the crown
prince underwent treatment in the United States and recuperation in Algeria
and Morocco. Henderson said the 79-year-old Nayef was believed to have had a
relapse of leukemia.
As a result, Salman has become prominent in the state-controlled Saudi
media. In April, Salman conducted an unprecedented five-day visit to the
troubled Eastern Province, which contains most of the kingdom’s energy
assets.
“Even if Salman soon becomes king, he is no spring chicken himself —
there is no certainty that he will reign for long,” the report said. “Salman
himself has had at least one stroke — photographs suggest that despite
physiotherapy his left arm does not work as well as his right.”
Two of Salman’s sons, Ahmed and Fahd, have already died of heart
ailments. The report said the sons of the other senior princes could become
rivals for the throne, including Saudi National Guard commander Prince
Miteb, Deputy Interior Minister Prince Mohammed and Deputy Oil Minister
Abdul Aziz.
The report said the Saudi government was being operated by senior civil
servants. One was identified as Khalid Al Tuwaijri, the son of the late King
Abdul Aziz. Another stalwart was State Minister Musaid Al Aiban, who
accompanied the defense minister to Britain.
“The advanced age of Saudi Arabia’s ruling elite virtually ensures that
the kingdom will undergo a series of leadership changes in the coming years,
throwing an already troubled region into further turmoil,” the report said.
“With Syria burning, Yemen in chaos, and Iran possibly inflamed by sanctions
and diplomatic pressures, foreign capitals view Saudi Arabia’s immediate
future with unsurprising nervousness.”
Saudi Prince Salman, 76, called likely successor to King Abdullah added by World Tribune on
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