Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef dies

Heir to the throne and deputy prime minister dies in hospital in Switzerland following illness

guardian.co.uk, Jo Adetunji and agencies, Saturday 16 June 2012

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz al Saud died in
Geneva. Photograph: Fahad Shadeed/Reuters

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz al Saud has died in Switzerland following an illness.

Nayef, 78, who was next in line to the Saudi throne, died in hospital in Geneva on Saturday, according to Saudi state television.

The prince had been interior minister in the kingdom since 1975 and deputy prime minister. He spearheaded the country's post-September 11 crackdown on al-Qaida. He rose to the position of crown prince after the death of his elder brother, Crown Prince Sultan, in October last year.

The prince had been ill for some months and had been in Switzerland since May for treatment. He had undergone medical tests in the US and although there had been speculation that he had cancer, this has never been officially confirmed.

Earlier this month, Nayef's brother and deputy interior minister, Prince Ahmed, told al-Watan newspaper that Nayef was "well and in good health … and he will soon return" to Saudi Arabia.

Nayef was considered to be more conservative and less keen on reform than his uncle, the current King Abdullah. However, in 2001, he supported a move to issue women in the kingdom with their own identity cards – previously they could only be registered on the card of a father or husband.

Nayef was initially criticised for shifting the blame from the country following the September 11 attacks, in which 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. It was also reported that he would be listed, along with other members of the royal family, in a lawsuit filed by the victims of the attacks, over claims that family members were engaged in payoffs to al-Qaida, but his name was later to be removed due to diplomatic immunity.

In February 2002 there came a change of heart. Under pressure from the US and attacks by Islamist militants within the kingdom – including a declaration from al-Qaida of its aim to overthrow the Saudi royal family – Nayef became the first Saudi official to publicly confirm that Saudi nationals were involved in the US attacks.

He was later responsible for a successful crackdown of radicals and al-Qaida militants in Saudi Arabia, who were responsible for a wave of bloody attacks in the country between 2003 and 2006. His campaign forced many to flee to neighbouring Yemen.

Nayef had also pushed for a more hardline stance towards Iran.

His uncle King Abdullah said in a statement that funeral prayers would be held for the prince after sunset on Sunday, before a traditional burial. Television channel Al Arabiya reported that his funeral would be held in a mosque in the holy city of Mecca.

The succession is likely to pass to another son of the former king, possibly Nayef's younger brother, Prince Salman, the governor of Riyadh.

Related Articles:

Saudi Prince Salman seen as likely heir to throne

Saudi Royal Welfare Program Revealed