The King is dead. Long live the King.

[Bronzeage]

The King of Saudi Arabia is dead.

King Abdullah was 91. The new King Salman is 79, so we can expect another of these announcements sometime in the near future.

 

[Trausti]

The Saudi line of succession works to effectively prevent the elevation of a youthful, progressive thinking, monarch who might shake things up. Kinda sucks.

 

[bleubird]

A bunch of desert Barbarians that got lucky.

 

[Rhea]

Will this go smoothly? No push from other heirs?

 

[Bronzeage]

Will this go smoothly? No push from other heirs?

There is a Saudi Ruling Council, sort of like a board of elders. They designate the heir apparent, and transition has never been a problem in Saudi Arabia.

The new King is Abdullah's 79 year old half brother, Salman. Kingfish jokes will not be tolerated.

 

[Metaphor]

The King of Saudi Arabia is dead.

King Abdullah was 91. The new King Salman is 79, so we can expect another of these announcements sometime in the near future.

I'm glad the head of state was chosen based on merit, and will surely usher Saudi Arabia into a new Golden Age. (Or a first Golden Age, whichever).

 

[Derec]

Will this go smoothly? No push from other heirs?

There has been power struggle between King Saud and Faisal (he of the "oil sword" in 1973) which resulted in Saud being forced to abdicate in favor of his half-brother.

By the way, all Saudi kings since 1953 have been sons of King Abdulaziz (aka Ibn Saud), the founder of the country. Current crown prince is 69 year old Muqrin who is the youngest of Ibn Saud's sons so they'll probably switch to the next generation after that.

 

[Derec]

The King of Saudi Arabia is dead.

King Abdullah was 91. The new King Salman is 79, so we can expect another of these announcements sometime in the near future.

No kidding. From his wiki page:

In August 2010, King Salman underwent spine surgery in the United States and remained out of the kingdom for recovery.[53] He had one stroke and despite physiotherapy, his left arm does not work as well as his right.[54] After his appointment as Crown Prince various analysts including Simon Henderson argued that he is suffering from dementia.[55] In addition, he is believed to be suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[56]

 

[Tom Sawyer]

So, the price of oil drops and all of a sudden the King of Saudi Arabia dies of "old age"? Why don't they just put up a big banner shouting "CIA Assassination"?

 

[bilby]

So, the price of oil drops and all of a sudden the King of Saudi Arabia dies of "old age"? Why don't they just put up a big banner shouting "CIA Assassination"?

Because it might have been the KGB. Putin ain't hugely impressed with the fall in oil prices either...

 

[lpetrich]

Strictly speaking, it would be the KGB's foreign successor, the SVR. Its domestic successor is the FSB.

Another such candidate is Iran's intelligence agency VAJA.

 

[Sarpedon]

The prime suspect is still the 91 year old fat man.

 

[Draconis]

There's plenty more where he came from.