E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Hassan Ammar / AP
Saudi crown prince and interior minister Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud drinks coffee and welcomes Gulf Arab leaders taking part in the Gulf Cooperation Council summit on May 14.
Updated at 8:10 a.m. ET: RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the hardline interior minister who spearheaded Saudi Arabia's fierce crackdown crushing al-Qaida's branch in the country after the 9/11 attacks in the United States and then rose to become next in line to the throne, has died. He was in his late 70s.
Nayef, interior minister since 1970, was the heir to Saudi King Abdullah and was appointed crown prince in October after the death of his elder brother and predecessor in the role, Crown Prince Sultan.
He had been in Switzerland since May for medical tests. No details were released about his illness.
Nayef had a reputation as a steely conservative who opposed King Abdullah's reforms and developed a formidable security infrastructure that crushed al-Qaida but also locked up some political activists.
Jane Kinninmont, London-based Chatham House's senior research fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program, told msnbc.com that a pillar of the old authoritarian order in the Middle East would had gone with Nayef's death, adding:
"Prince Nayef was the most powerful conservative force in Saudi Arabia, running the interior ministry, the internal security forces and the religious police. He was opposed to women voting or driving. The next in line to the throne, Prince Salman, is seen as a more liberal figure, and is a bit younger, but it's all relative -- he's in his 60s rather than late 70s. Don't expect any radical change coming from the new crown prince -- more a subtle shift of tone."
The big question is who will be the third in line to the throne -- do they keep passing this role around the increasingly elderly sons of the first Saudi king, or choose someone from the younger generation? The family is huge and full of rivalries and they are likely to be increasingly preoccupied with their internal family politics -- which could prove a distraction from the need to reform and adapt to accommodate their own population's needs.
Funeral prayers for the prince would be held after sunset on Sunday, the royal court said in a statement. Burial traditionally follows immediately after prayers.
Will Saudi-Bahrain union plan provoke Iran?
Al Arabiya television reported that the prayers would be held in a mosque in the holy city of Mecca.
New heir?
Nayef's death means the 89-year-old King Abdullah must nominate a new heir for the second time in nine months. Defense Minister Prince Salman, 76, seen as most likely to continue King Abdullah's cautious reforms, has long been viewed as the next most senior prince in the kingdom's succession.
Nayef, King Abdullah and Salman are among the nearly 40 sons of Saudi Arabia's founder, Abdulaziz bin Saud, who established the kingdom in 1935.
Salman was made defense minister in November and had served as Riyadh governor for five decades.
Report: Saudi Arabia to buy nukes if Iran tests A-bomb
The New York Times called the prince "hard-line but pragmatic" in a profile that ran in October.
The article went on to quote an October 2009 American diplomatic cable that was obtained via WikiLeaks:
"Nayef is widely seen as a hard-line conservative who at best is lukewarm to King Abdullah’s reform initiatives ... However, it would be more accurate to describe him as a conservative pragmatist convinced that security and stability are imperative to preserve Al Saud rule and ensure prosperity for Saudi citizens."
Msnbc.com's F. Brinley Bruton and Reuters contributed to this report.
More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Japan approves reactor restarts, more seen
- Motivated by fear not hope, a polarized Egypt heads to the polls
- US official: Russia sends troops to Syria as peace hopes fade
- Are Libyans turning against the West?
- Bartering takes hold in austerity-wracked Greece
- Three dead, one critical in Alberta campus shooting
- Forest Boy' mystery solved: Man admits lies over identity
- Last fugitive in 1995 Tokyo subway gas attack arrested
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
If they elect a Liberal like Obama look out the country would turn upside down. Maybe God is trying to tell them to loosen up liberally a little giving more freedoms or tighten up conservativly going backwards in time... The rebels seem to be waffling between being liberals or ultra conservatives civil war will decide the outcome ultra conservatism will lead to more blood shed. 72 does not work anymore..They are getting smarter . Can they handle liberals ?/liberalism is knocking at your door ! Feed us ! Topless bars and movie stars and funked out cars can you handle the ultra conservative bow down card.
I don't think you'll see a revolution in S.A. any time soon. They keep a tight rein on the government and the people but they have enough wealth that it keeps most people happy. It would tickle the heck out of me if we built a couple of new refineries and drilled our own oil. Just to see the havoc it might cause them. We have enough to last a long time while PRIVATE businesses try to find an alternative.The government can't develop green energy because the people they give the money to don't really care if they succeed or not. They already have the money.
I guess this means he isn't in line for the throne anymore?
this outta rock the stocks around the planet...
Not really. They have princes coming out the wazoo. Every prince has several wives so therefore they have several sons. I'll bet the younger ones will be glad when all the orginal sons die. THAT is probably when you'll see some fighting unless they plan the succession well.
Will the uncertainty in Saudi politics allow space for the Arab Spring to take root?
Who's Obama going to bow to now?
What to know-more? Pray to a real God.
king obama, kiss his ass now he is dead
Looks like an al-Qaida agent got him with rat poison.
What does United States and Saudi Arabia have in common?
Neither had a female head of state, none expected in the future.
If you have an Israeli passport or even a passport stamped by Israel you cannot enter Saudi Arabia. A pox on them eternally.
the guy is dead; it won't change much in SA-the family controls the government-why is that so hard to understand? PS the US EXPORTS huge amounts of oil: it's a GLOBAL commodity...we don't NEED theirs, it just makes sense to BUY it sometimes. why is that ALSO so hard for the conspiracy-addled uneducated wackos to understand? well, because that's who and what they are. luckily they never qualify for a hand on the button...but they can feel good buying firearms and digging shelters. keep digging...and close the hatch soon we are sick of you fools-really.
Read this April 2004 article about Bush-Saudi family ties. It's about 140 Saudis allowed to leave the U.S. during no-fly period immediately after 9/11.
Sorry the Bush-Saudi link was deleted. Try this: commondreams.org/views04/0411-03.htm
The article was originally published in the Boston Globe on 4/11/2004.
Bush's father has to be proud of what his son was able to do in 8 years in office by bringing the world to its knees with a total failed republican policy.
Ok am i just tired or do i see 6 fingers on that guys hand thats holding a cain???like seriously 4 are visible with his thumb slightly showing behind his index finger & cain. then there is something showing along the side of his pinky which actually is to big to be a pinky finger running perpendicular to it!That guy has 6 Fingers!!!