US embassy cable - 05RIYADH5352

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 005352 
 
 
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (PARA 1) 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SA 
SUBJECT: SAUDI KING FAHD DIES, ABDULLAH ASCENDS THE THRONE 
 
1.  (U) Classified by Ambassador James Oberwetter. Reason 1.4 
(B and D). 
 
2.  (C) The Royal Diwan announced on August 1 that Saudi King 
Fahd bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud has died. The announcement was 
read on Saudi state television at 10:00 AM Riyadh time. 
According to our sources in the Royal Diwan, King Fahd passed 
away at 9:00 PM on July 31. The King had suffered from 
generally failing health over the last 10 years, after 
experiencing a stroke in 1995.  The announcement did not give 
the immediate cause of death.  However, King Fahd had been 
hospitalized for the past two months and was reportedly 
unconscious and able to breath only with the aid of a 
respirator for at least the last several weeks.   Fahd was 
reported to be 83 years old at the time of is death. 
 
3.  (C) According to the public announcement, the burial will 
take place tomorrow in the afternoon.  The prayer service 
will take place at the 'Asr prayer, at approximately 3:30 PM 
tomorrow, August 2, in the Prince Turki Mosque in the old 
city neighborhood of Riyadh.  The late king will probably be 
buried in Riyadh at the Al-Oud cemetery, although this has 
not yet been announced. 
 
4.  (U) The Royal Diwan has also announced the ascension to 
the throne of Prince Abdullah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, 
formerly Crown Prince.  In the same statement, the Diwan 
announced that the members of the Royal Family had sworn the 
oath of allegiance (Arabic: "bay'a") to Abdullah in his 
capacity as the new king.  Subsequently, King Abdullah named 
Prince Sultan bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, formerly Second Deputy 
Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, as the new Crown 
Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister. 
 
5.  (C)  No announcement regarding the position of Second 
Deputy Prime Minister has been made, nor did the announcement 
provide any information about whether the new King and Crown 
Prince have relinquished command of the SANG and the Ministry 
of Defense, respectively. 
 
6.   (U) According to the Royal Diwan's statement, starting 
on Wednesday after the noon day Dhuhr prayer, King Abdullah 
and Crown Prince Sultan will receive oaths of allegiance from 
Saudi citizens at the Government Palace building in the old 
city neighborhood of Riyadh.  It is anticipated that the new 
king and Crown Prince will receive the citizens' "bay'a" 
oaths of allegiance for two to three days, and that thousands 
of citizens, including senior tribal shaykhs, military 
officers, and government officials, will swear allegiance. 
 
 
OBERWETTER