The Saudian Kingdom after Transition

On August 1, 2005, Fahd Bin Abd al Aziz, the king of Saudi Arabia, died. Since it had been known for a long time that the monarch was in bad health, his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdallah, had taken over the business of government as early as 1995. Immediately after the death of the head of state became known, Abdallah was appointed his successor. Prince Sultan, another half-brother of the deceased as well as of the new ruler, became minister of defence.