- King Fahd, Saudi Arabia's ruler since 1982, has died
at the age of 84.
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- Saudi state television announced Crown Prince Abdullah,
his half-brother, had been named as King Fahd's successor.
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- King Fahd had been frail since suffering a debilitating
stroke in 1995 and had delegated the running of the kingdom to Crown Prince
Abdullah.
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- Members of the royal family have pledged allegiance to
Abdullah. An official ceremony confirming him as king is due to be held
on Wednesday.
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- King Fahd's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday, while on
Wednesday Saudi citizens will be able to pledge their loyalty to their
new ruler at a palace in the capital, Riyadh.
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- Defence Minister Prince Sultan is next in line to the
throne after Abdullah, his half-brother, and was named crown prince.
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- The king had been ill in hospital for two months and
his passing away came as no surprise, says the BBC's Heba Saleh in Cairo.
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- The smooth succession of Crown Prince Abdullah, who has
been the de facto ruler of the kingdom since the mid-90s when ill health
confined King Fahd to a wheelchair, has also been widely expected, she
adds.
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- 'Sorrow and sadness'
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- "With all sorrow and sadness, the royal court in
the name of his highness Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and all members
of the family announces the death of the servant of the two holy mosques,
King Fahd bin Abdel Aziz," Minister of Information Iyad bin Amin Madani
announced on state television.
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- "He died after suffering an illness. God now allows
the custodian of the two holy mosques, King Fahd, with great mercy and
forgiveness, to reside in his wide heaven."
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- The king died early on Monday at the King Faisal Specialist
Hospital in Riyadh, where he was admitted on 27 May for unspecified medical
tests, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reports.
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- An extraordinary Arab summit due be held Wednesday in
the Egyptian resort of Sharm al-Sheikh has been postponed because of King
Fahd's death.
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- Countries across the Middle East are holding periods
of mourning.
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- President George Bush has spoken to King Abdullah to
offer US condolences, and the US embassy has announced the three-day closure
of its office in Riyadh and its consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran, the Associated
Press has reported.
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- Other world leaders have responded to the news of King
Fahd's death.
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- "King Fahd was a man of great vision and leadership
who inspired his countrymen for a quarter of a century as king, and for
many more before that," UK Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a statement.
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- "He was also a good friend of the United Kingdom.
Our two countries have benefited very greatly over the years from his wise
advice."
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- France's President Jacques Chirac expressed "profound
sadness" at the news in a message of condolence to the Saudi government.
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- "During his reign, King Fahd put the safety of his
people above all else. In perilous times he was the guarantor of his country's
cohesion and the defender of regional stability. He knew how to apply wisdom
to the Kingdom's changes," the message said.
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- Absolute monarch
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- King Fahd ascended the throne in 1982 after seven years
as crown prince, making him absolute monarch of the world's largest oil-producing
country and home of Islam's two holiest sites, the mosques at Mecca and
Medina.
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- He threw the weight of the kingdom behind Arab causes
and was heavily involved in regional issues such as the search for a peaceful
settlement to the Lebanese civil war which ended with an agreement signed
in the kingdom.
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- The monarch's decision in 1990 to invite American forces
into Saudi Arabia after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was heavily criticised
within the country.
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- Many say it contributed to the rise of al-Qaeda whose
leader, Osama Bin Laden, is a Saudi-born businessman.
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- KING FAHD FACTS
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- * Born in Riyadh in 1923
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- * Appointed education minister in 1953, then became interior
minister, and later deputy prime minister and Crown Prince
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- * Ascended to the throne in 1982
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- * Added the title Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to
his name in 1986
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- * Invited US troops into Saudi Arabia in 1990 to counter
the threat of Iraqi invasion
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- * Suffered a series of strokes in 1995
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- © BBC MMV
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- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4734175.stm
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