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King Fahd guided Saudi Arabia through the most turbulent era in its history, including two Gulf Wars. (Reuters)
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RIYADH,
August 1, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Saudi Arabia's
King Fahd bin Abdel Aziz died on Monday, August 1, at the age of 83
after a long battle with illness and his Crown Prince Abdullah was
swiftly pronounced successor.
"With
deep sorrow and pain, the royal court... mourns the death of The
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd due to illness," said
an official statement read out on Saudi state television.
Prince
Abdullah, who has been running the kingdom's day-to-day affairs since
Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, was named new monarch and Deputy
Premier and Minister of Defense Prince Sultan the new crown prince.
Immediately
after the Saudi announcement, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa
said that the August 3 emergency Arab summit in the Egyptian Red Sea
resort of Sharm was postponed for a week, reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
Oil
prices rose more than 50 cents to a nearly three-week high above $61 a
barrel after Fahd’s death.
US
light, sweet crude reached a new intra-day peak of $61.11 a barrel, up
54 cents on the previous close and about 35 cents higher than before
the breaking news.
A
Saudi source told Reuters that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil
exporter and holds a quarter of global oil reserves, will adhere to
its long-standing oil policy aimed at keeping global markets well
supplied to stabilize prices.
Illness
Fahd,
who had been in poor health for long years, was admitted to King
Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh on May 27 for medical tests and
was said to be suffering from respiratory problems caused by
pneumonia.
Believed
to have been born in 1921, Fahd assumed the Saudi throne in 1982.
He
guided Saudi Arabia through the most turbulent era in its history,
which saw the kingdom survive two Gulf Wars only to have to confront
the menace of terrorism.
Designated
as next in line after King Faisal's assassination in 1975, Fahd was in
practical terms running the country under the rule of his ailing
brother King Khaled from 1975 to 1982.
After
the stroke in 1995 confined him to a wheelchair, Fahd delegated the
day-to-day business of government to Prince Abdullah.
It
was Fahd himself who upheld the Saudi tradition of the crown prince
succeeding the monarch.
Saudi
Arabia's crown prince has traditionally replaced the king on the
monarch's death or abdication, but a law introduced by King Fahd
opened the door for the succession.
The
basic law adopted in 1992 allows the royal family to select a grandson
of Abdul Aziz over the 20-odd surviving brothers and half-brothers of
King Fahd.
King
Abdul Aziz had 45 known sons. On his death in 1953, his son and crown
prince Saud succeeded him.
In
1964 Saud's brother Faisal took over as the king was forced to
abdicate over corruption and poor leadership.
Faisal
was assassinated in 1975, and was followed by his crown prince and
half-brother Khaled.
Khaled
died in 1982 to be replaced by crown prince Fahd, who named Abdullah
as his heir.
The
modern Saudi state was formed only after Abdul Aziz Al-Saud unified
the territory in 1932, six years before oil was first discovered in
the kingdom.
