May 28, 2005, 10:56AM
Saudi's king remains stable in hospital today
By LAITH ABOU-RAGHEB
Reuters News Service
KING FAHD
King Fahd bin Abdul-Aziz in 2002
BIRTH DATE: Born 1923 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
REIGN: Fahd was a power behind the scenes long before he succeeded King
Khalid in June 1982, becoming Saudi Arabia's fifth leader since the
state was founded by his father Abdul-Aziz al-Saud in 1932. Fahd
ascended one of the world's richest thrones at the peak of a
petrodollar boom, which transformed Saudi Arabia from a poor desert
country into a global economic power.
RECENT EVENTS: Fahd used the huge oil revenues to back Saddam Hussein's
Iraq in its eight-year war with Iran, but when Saddam invaded
neighboring Kuwait, Fahd invited U.S. forces to Saudi Arabia to launch
their recapture of the tiny emirate in 1991.
=B7 His decision to let half a million non-Muslim fighters into Saudi
Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest sites, angered
Saudi scholars and a former Saudi mujahideen fighter in Afghanistan,
Osama bin Laden.
=B7 Fahd, weakened and wheelchair-bound since suffering a stroke in
1995, has passed day-to-day control of the country to his younger
half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah.
=B7 Official online biography: Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's King Fahd is stable a day after
he was hospitalized with pneumonia, Saudi officials said today.
They said the king, in his early 80s and incapacitated by a stroke
since 1995, had undergone treatment to have fluid drained from his
lungs. "He has now stabilized," one official said.
Fears about the king's health heightened Friday after a royal statement
urged Saudis to pray for his recovery. The palace has issued no further
update on his health.
Should Fahd die, diplomats expect a smooth succession in the kingdom,
the world's biggest oil exporter, which has been fighting al-Qaida
militants trying to topple the royal family.
The script calls for Crown Prince Abdullah, the king's half-brother and
a cautious reformist, to ascend the throne and for Defense Minister
Prince Sultan to become crown prince.
Life appeared normal in the capital Riyadh, with busy traffic after the
Friday weekend and no sign of extra security.
Gulf leaders began a scheduled summit in Riyadh today. State TV earlier
showed Prince Abdullah meeting the leaders after their arrival.
"We wish his majesty (King Fahd) good health and wellbeing," Bahrain's
king said in an opening speech.
Despite palace assurances, King Fahd's health was of great concern to
many Saudis in a country where information is often filtered and
rumours fly. Some believed the monarch was in a coma. Others took the
prayer request as an ominous sign.
"I think the fact the government so quickly told us about the king's
condition means things are very serious this time," said Abu Fahad, a
24-year-old university student.
Businessman Mohammed Sulaiman said: "I actually think he is already
dead and that the authorities are holding out on telling people so that
the news doesn't come as too much of a shock."
HARIRI LEAVES FOR RIYADH
Saad al-Hariri, son of Lebanon's late former prime minister Rafik
al-Hariri, flew to Riyadh on Saturday to visit Fahd, even though he is
fighting elections in Beirut on Sunday, aides said.
Like his assassinated father, Saad holds both Saudi and Lebanese
citizenship and runs a large business in the kingdom.
Saudi media said leaders of Lebanon, Egypt and Spain and U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan wished the king well.
Rumors about King Fahd's health have often surfaced in Saudi Arabia and
on world oil markets since he fell ill 10 years ago. But this time they
appeared to be better founded.
Reports that he was sick were blamed for a 4.7 percent drop in Saudi
stock prices Wednesday. In morning trade today, the index was down
nearly 1 percent.
Oil prices jumped to $52 a barrel Friday on expectations of high U.S.
gasoline demand and reports the king was ill.
Equity economist Fawad Rizvi said the long-term outlook for the Saudi
stock market was still continued growth.
Fahd has ruled Saudi Arabia, birthplace of Islam, since June 1982, but
after his stroke, a weakened and wheelchair-bound king passed control
of day-to-day affairs to Prince Abdullah.
Abdullah, commander of the national guard, has overseen a crackdown on
militants who waged a campaign of suicide attacks, hostage-taking and
assassinations in the Gulf Arab state, birthplace of al-Qaida leader
Osama bin Laden.
The royal family maintains a tight grip on power in the conservative
state, home to Islam's two holiest sites. Its strong ties with
Washington has, however, sparked a violent backlash from Islamist
militants loyal to bin Laden.
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