Tuesday, Jun 19, 2012

(This story was originally published Monday)

--New Crown Prince One of So-Called "Sudairi Seven"

--Known To Favor Close Relations With West

By Summer Said

Of ZAWYA DOW JONES

RIYADH (Zawya Dow Jones)--Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Saud Monday named his half-brother Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz as the country's new crown prince, placing him next in line to rule the oil-rich kingdom.

Prince Salman, who was the governor of Riyadh province from 1962 until he was appointed defense minister and deputy crown prince in November, has played an increasingly prominent role in Saudi politics in recent years. Prince Salman was already considered by observers as next in line to the throne after Prince Nayef, another half-brother of King Abdullah whose death was announced on Saturday.

The king has also appointed deputy interior minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz as the new interior minister, according to a royal decree. Prince Nayef had held the interior ministry role until his death.

The Saudi monarchy doesn't pass from father to son but rather along a line of brothers born to the former King Abdulaziz Al Saud, also known as ibn Saud, who founded the modern kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1934.

Prince Salman, believed to be 76 or 77 years old, is one of more than a dozen surviving sons of Ibn Saud and is also one of the seven sons born to the former king's favorite wife, Hassa bint Ahmed al-Sudairi. Those sons, the so-called "Sudairi seven" were regarded as a formidable power bloc withing the ruling family and were given positions of high office as young men in the 1960s.

The former King Fahd was the eldest of the seven. The new interior minister, Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, is also a full brother of Prince Salman and the youngest of the Sudairi brothers. Prince Salman, as governor of Riyadh province, has been credited for turning the Saudi capital from a mid-sized town into a major urban metropolis, attracting tourism, capital projects, and foreign investment. The new crown prince also owns a newspaper group that includes the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat and the business newspaper al-Eqtisadiah. He is known to favor close political and economic ties with the West.

-By Summer Said, Dow Jones Newswires; +966-546-842373;

summer.said@dowjones.com

(Ellen Knickmeyer in Riyadh contributed to this report.)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

19-06-12 0342GMT