SAUDI ARABIA: The body of Prince Nayef arrives in Jeddah after being flown back from Switzerland where the Crown Prince was receiving medical treatment

Record ID: 189002

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: The body of Prince Nayef arrives in Jeddah after being flown back from Switzerland where the Crown Prince was receiving medical treatment
  • Date: 18th June 2012
  • Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (JUNE 17, 2012) (REUTERS) SAUDI NEWSPAPERS WITH PICTURES PRINCE NAYEF ON FRONT PAGE PICTURE OF PRINCE NAYEF WITH ENGLISH HEADLINE READING 'WE ARE SHOCKED!' SAUDI GAZETTE WITH FRONT PAGE PICTURE OF PRINCE NAYEF AND ENGLISH HEADLINE: 'UNTO GOD DO WE BELONG AND, VERILY UNTO HIM WE SHALL RETURN' NEWSPAPER HEADLINE IN ENGLISH READING 'CROWN PRINCE NAIF(1934-2102) PICTURE OF PRINCE NAYEF SHAKING HANDS WITH SAUDI KING ABDULLAH PICTURE OF PRINCE NAYEF AND HIS BROTHER KING ABDULLAH AL-HAYAT NEWSPAPER FRONT PAGE WITH PICTURE OF PRINCE NAYEF AND ARABIC HEADLINE READING: 'SAUDI ARABIA BIDS FAREWELL TO PRINCE NAYEF' VARIOUS OF SAUDI NEWSPAPERS
  • Embargoed: 3rd July 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Royalty,Royalty
  • Reuters ID: LVA6ISAS06WBWFU1S75SM961O101
  • Story Text: The body of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arrived back in the Kingdom on Sunday (June 17).
    Prince Nayef, who was the heir to the Saudi throne, died suddenly in Geneva on Saturday after receiving treatment for a knee complaint, a source close to the royal family said. He was thought to be 78.
    State television said he would be buried in Mecca later on Sunday.
    Nayef, interior minister since 1975, was appointed crown prince in October after the death of his elder brother and the previous heir, Crown Prince Sultan.
    He had a reputation as a steely conservative who opposed King Abdullah's reforms and developed a formidable security infrastructure that crushed al Qaeda but also locked up some political activists.
    The most likely candidate to succeed the 89-year-old king Abdullah is 76-year-old Prince Salman, who has long been viewed as the next most senior prince after Nayef.
    Salman, who is seen as a pragmatist with a strong grasp of the intricate balance of competing princely and clerical interests that dominate Saudi politics, was named defence minister last year.
    The appointment of a new crown prince is not likely to change the kingdom's position on foreign or domestic policy, but King Abdullah's new heir will face a range of major challenges when he one day becomes king.
    Saudi Arabia has a rapidly growing population and an economy that is heavily reliant on oil exports. It also faces a threat from al Qaeda and a regional rivalry with Iran.
    In May, Nayef went to Switzerland for medical tests, his second trip abroad for check-ups for an undisclosed health issue since March.
    Like his brothers King Abdullah and Salman, he was one of the nearly 40 sons of Saudi Arabia's founder, Abdulaziz ibn Saud, who established the kingdom in 1935.
    Unlike in European monarchies, the Saudi succession does not pass from father to eldest son, but has moved along a line of brothers born to Ibn Saud.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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