Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05RIYADH3517
2005-05-28 10:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Riyadh
Cable title:  

KING FAHD HEALTH CRISIS UPDATE

Tags:  PGOV PREL SA 
pdf how-to read a cable
O 281056Z MAY 05
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6465
INFO HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL IMMEDIATE
NSC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
WHITE HOUSE WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 003517 


E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL SA
SUBJECT: KING FAHD HEALTH CRISIS UPDATE

Classified By: Ambassador James Oberwetter, reasons 1.4 (b,d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L RIYADH 003517


E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL SA
SUBJECT: KING FAHD HEALTH CRISIS UPDATE

Classified By: Ambassador James Oberwetter, reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (C) Summary: As of Saturday, May 28, King Fahd remains in
King Faisal Specialist Hospital, undergoing unspecified
"medical tests," according to statements released by the
Saudi press agency and sourced to the Royal Court and
"official sources." The mood in Riyadh is quiet and normal,
although Embassy contacts report an undercurrent of
nervousness among the general population. There are some
signs of heightened security measures, including helicopter
overflights, but nothing consistent with earlier press
reports of a "state of emergency." We will continue to
monitor the situation closely as it evolves. End Summary.


2. (U) According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA),King Fahd
bin Abd al-Aziz remains hospitalized. A statement issued by
the Royal Court and reported by SPA May 27 said that the king
had been admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital for
unspecified tests. SPA reported today that the tests are
proceeding normally and the king is doing well.


3. (C) Emboffs and Embassy contacts in Riyadh report that
the situation in the city is essentially normal. There have
been a few signs of heightened security measures, including
helicopter overflights, but nothing consistent with earlier
press reports of a "state of emergency."


4. (C) Nevertheless, Embassy contacts report an
undercurrent of nervousness among the general population.
This is understandable in view of the Kingdom's demographics.
King Fahd ascended to the throne in 1982 after his brother
King Khalid died of a heart attack. Since the median age of
the Saudi population is just over 21 years, more than half
the country's citizens were born during Fahd's 23-year reign,
and he is the only king they have ever known. Even though he
withdrew from running the government following a stroke in
1995, leaving his half brother Crown Prince Abdullah as the
Kingdom's de facto ruler, Fahd has been an omnipresent
element in the lives of the Kingdom's inhabitants. His face
is on the money and his official portrait hangs in countless
government offices. Popular uncertainty probably accounts
for the fact that the Saudi stock market declined by 5
percent this week once rumors began to circulate that the
king's health was deteriorating.


5. (C) Embassy contacts report that all or most of the
senior princes are present in Riyadh. Should the King die in
the near future, it will be a relatively simple matter to
convene a family council, if indeed this has not happened
already. We expect that the Al Saud family leadership would
confirm Crown Prince Abdullah as King and Prince Sultan,
currently Defense Minister, as Crown Prince and First Deputy
Prime Minister. At this point, the big question would seem
to be who would become Second Deputy Prime Minister and thus
Crown Prince in waiting. Speculation centers around Prince
Nayif bin Abd al-Aziz, currently Minister of Interior.
However, Prince Abd al-Rahman, currently the Vice Minister of
Defense and Aviation, and Prince Salman, Governor of Riyadh,
are also seen as candidates for the Second Deputy Prime
Minister spot. Of course, Al Saud family politics are
notoriously opaque to outsiders, and even prominent non-royal
Saudis admit that surprises are always possible where the
royal family is concerned.


6. (C) We will continue to monitor the situation and report
further as it evolves.


Oberwetter