Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah died early on Friday and his brother Salman became king, the royal court in the world’s top oil exporter and wider Arab world.
Abdullah, thought to have been born in 1923, had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2006.King Salman has been crown prince and defense minister since 2012. He was governor of Riyadh province for five decades before that.
Saudi Arabia’s new King Salman moved quickly to reassure markets and allies by pledging to continue with the policies of his previous ruler, Abdullah.
Salman, is 79 and widely said to be in poor health, became king, as long expected, on the death of his half-brother, aged 90. The new crown prince and heir to the throne is Prince Muqrin, 69.