King Fahd, Saudi Arabia's ruler since 1982, has died at the age of 84.
August 1, 2005 12:25 PM Subscribe
Oh, wait I spoke too soon. His brother got the job.
posted by Livewire Confusion at 12:33 PM on August 1, 2005
posted by Livewire Confusion at 12:33 PM on August 1, 2005
Well, since Crown Prince Abdullah has been the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia since 1995, I would assume that he would simple assume the de jure title of King in some meaningless ceremony, and continue overseeing the House of Saud's traditional kleptocracy with narry a hiccup.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:34 PM on August 1, 2005
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:34 PM on August 1, 2005
simply assume, rather, argh.
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:35 PM on August 1, 2005
posted by [expletive deleted] at 12:35 PM on August 1, 2005
Well, since Crown Prince Abdullah has been the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia since 1995, I would assume that he would simple assume the de jure title of King in some meaningless ceremony, and continue overseeing the House of Saud's traditional kleptocracy with narry a hiccup.
Yep, I spoke too soon. I was laboring under information that when he died that all the 100 or so princes would have to duke it out for the title of King.
posted by Livewire Confusion at 12:38 PM on August 1, 2005
Yep, I spoke too soon. I was laboring under information that when he died that all the 100 or so princes would have to duke it out for the title of King.
posted by Livewire Confusion at 12:38 PM on August 1, 2005
Finally the country will allow women's suffrage, democracy and individual rights!
posted by geoff. at 12:46 PM on August 1, 2005
posted by geoff. at 12:46 PM on August 1, 2005
What about Alvin of Arabia?
Is he related to Simon of Sidon and Theodore of Thessalonica?
posted by Pollomacho at 1:31 PM on August 1, 2005
Is he related to Simon of Sidon and Theodore of Thessalonica?
posted by Pollomacho at 1:31 PM on August 1, 2005
The fascinating thing about this is that Prince Abdullah is 81 years old, and the new crown prince/successor, Prince Sultan, is 77.
Guess that's what happens when you don't hand the monarchy down between generations naturally.
posted by smackfu at 1:36 PM on August 1, 2005
Guess that's what happens when you don't hand the monarchy down between generations naturally.
posted by smackfu at 1:36 PM on August 1, 2005
I lived over there when King Fahd took the throne. They blacked out all TV for a month in honor of his predecessor. As a nine-year old, I was quite miffed by this (even though at the time Saudi TV only aired from 3:00pm-10:00pm and was highly censored. If you were lucking you could get one grainy channel from Bahrain on your rabbit ears, though.)
posted by Cyrano at 2:08 PM on August 1, 2005
posted by Cyrano at 2:08 PM on August 1, 2005
Guess that's what happens when you don't hand the monarchy down between generations naturally.
Yeah but it's a good thing. I means you don't get 10 year old boy kings who will only have their powers usurped by "regents", you get qualified and respected leaders ready to take up the mantle. Also, when you have a Royal family that consists of 700 people, having a singular line of succession, particularly when the royals have multiple wives, would only lead to warring family factions and, of course, horribly awkward family dinners.
The jockeying for power still does take place, but on the lower levels. I think it's brilliant, that ascension to the throne is, at least it's partially, based on merits and experience.
posted by Like the Reef at 2:20 PM on August 1, 2005
Yeah but it's a good thing. I means you don't get 10 year old boy kings who will only have their powers usurped by "regents", you get qualified and respected leaders ready to take up the mantle. Also, when you have a Royal family that consists of 700 people, having a singular line of succession, particularly when the royals have multiple wives, would only lead to warring family factions and, of course, horribly awkward family dinners.
The jockeying for power still does take place, but on the lower levels. I think it's brilliant, that ascension to the throne is, at least it's partially, based on merits and experience.
posted by Like the Reef at 2:20 PM on August 1, 2005
Who wants to bet on the odds that Bandar Bush gets the throne?
Not I, but on the subject of Prince Bandar, you might want to take a look at this from a few days ago.
posted by IndigoJones at 2:42 PM on August 1, 2005
Not I, but on the subject of Prince Bandar, you might want to take a look at this from a few days ago.
posted by IndigoJones at 2:42 PM on August 1, 2005
Livewire Confusion writes "I was laboring under information that when he died that all the 100 or so princes would have to duke it out for the title of King."
Where did you get this information?
posted by mr_roboto at 6:28 PM on August 1, 2005
Where did you get this information?
posted by mr_roboto at 6:28 PM on August 1, 2005
100 or so princes would have to duke it out for the title of King.
Don't count on it, earl you'd be wrong, though I wouldn't viscount the possibility.
posted by swell at 7:11 PM on August 1, 2005
Don't count on it, earl you'd be wrong, though I wouldn't viscount the possibility.
posted by swell at 7:11 PM on August 1, 2005
Will Abdullah be able to maintain power? Will he have to make even further concessions to the Wahabi extremists to keep power, or will his more devout background allow him to rule without having to cede so much authority to them? Apparently, Fahd was quite pragmatic, less devout and had somewhat of a wild youth to overcome. He passively allowed the society to veer toward extremism to blunt criticism from the extremists. How will all of this affect attitudes toward the West, both official and in Saudi society?
posted by caddis at 7:58 AM on August 2, 2005
posted by caddis at 7:58 AM on August 2, 2005
FYI, some Saudi friends of mine said he probably died about two weeks ago, but it was kept secret to prevent any sudden power struggles.
The new King's (Abdullah) son resigned as ambassador two weeks ago, which probably closely coincided with King Fahd's death.
The Saudi royals are close and true allies, but they cannot control their kingdom as much as we (or they) would like. Like all monarchies, there are threats to the throne and they must tread carefully.
posted by b_thinky at 3:05 PM on August 2, 2005
The new King's (Abdullah) son resigned as ambassador two weeks ago, which probably closely coincided with King Fahd's death.
The Saudi royals are close and true allies, but they cannot control their kingdom as much as we (or they) would like. Like all monarchies, there are threats to the throne and they must tread carefully.
posted by b_thinky at 3:05 PM on August 2, 2005
The new King's (Abdullah) son resigned as ambassador two weeks ago, which probably closely coincided with King Fahd's death.
Yeap
Abdallah rans things defacto but had little power until recently. Fahds fav wife, Jawahara al-Ibrahim, and her son Azouzi ("deary") ran alot of the show since Fhads stroke. Jawhara was the only one to have 24 hour access to Fahd.
me. i like Abdallah alot and think he will change things as much as they can, aftee all, the oil clock is ticking.
posted by clavdivs at 3:46 PM on August 2, 2005
Yeap
Abdallah rans things defacto but had little power until recently. Fahds fav wife, Jawahara al-Ibrahim, and her son Azouzi ("deary") ran alot of the show since Fhads stroke. Jawhara was the only one to have 24 hour access to Fahd.
me. i like Abdallah alot and think he will change things as much as they can, aftee all, the oil clock is ticking.
posted by clavdivs at 3:46 PM on August 2, 2005
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posted by Livewire Confusion at 12:28 PM on August 1, 2005