Who is King Salman, King Abdullah passes away, new ruler is Salman

Saudi king names Salman as crown prince: state TV

Saudi King Abdullah passed away January 23, 2015 at around 1:00AM (Arab Standard Time), the Royal Court announced in a statement read on official Saudi TV early Friday. Prince Salman was named the new King of Saudi Arabia and Prince Muqrin as Crown Prince.

The family's Allegiance Council paid allegiance to Salman and Prince Muqrin as his crown prince and heir, the statement said.

Abdullah, 90, had ruled Saudi Arabia as king since 2006, but had run the country as de facto regent for a decade before that after his predecessor King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke.

King Salman, 79, has been crown prince and defence minister since 2012. He was governor of Riyadh province for five decades before that.

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