Saudi Minister Puts Young Royals in Succession Spotlight
This article is for subscribers only.
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah named Prince Khaled bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz as the next governor of Riyadh, handing one of the kingdom’s most important regional postings to the second generation of royals.
It’s at least the fourth time since July that King Abdullah, who turns 90 this year, handed a key posting to younger royals. The generational shift comes as the king seeks to keep Saudi Arabia free from the unrest that swept the Arab world over the past two years, leading to civil war in Syria and protests in Saudi neighbor Bahrain. He’s also fighting high unemployment in the world’s biggest oil exporter, and a threat from al-Qaeda.