Saudi King Abdullah passes away

Salman was Abdullah’s crown prince and had recently taken on some of the ailing king’s responsibilities. The 69 year-old Prince Muqrin, a former head of intelligence in Saudi Arabia and half-brother to both Salman and Abdullah, was announced as the kingdom’s crown prince. More than his guarded predecessors, Abdullah who ascended to the throne in 2005 assertively threw his oil—rich nation’s weight behind trying to shape the Middle East. His priority was to counter the influence of rival, mainly Shiite Iran wherever it tried to make advances. He and fellow Sunni Arab monarchs also staunchly opposed the Middle East’s wave of pro-democracy uprisings, seeing them as a threat to stability and their own rule.

Regionally, perhaps Abdullah’s biggest priority was to confront Iran, the Shiite powerhouse across the Gulf. He backed Sunni Muslim factions against Tehran’s allies in several countries, where colliding ambitions stoked proxy conflicts around the region that enflamed Sunni-Shiite hatreds most horrifically in Syria’s civil war, where the two countries backed opposing sides. Those conflicts in turn hiked Sunni militancy that returned to threaten Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah was selected as crown prince in 1982 on the day his half-brother Fahd ascended to the throne. He became de facto ruler in 1995 when a stroke incapacitated Fahd. Abdullah was believed to have long rankled at the closeness of the alliance with the United States, and as regent he pressed Washington to withdraw the troops it had deployed in the kingdom since the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The U.S. finally did so in 2003.

Abdullah for the first time gave women seats on the Shura Council, an unelected body that advises the king and government. He promised women would be able to vote and run in 2015 elections for municipal councils, the only elections held in the country. He appointed the first female deputy minister in 2009. Two Saudi female athletes competed in the Olympics for the first time in 2012, and a small handful of women were granted licenses to work as lawyers during his rule.

President Pranab Mukherjee has condoled the passing away of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

On Friday, the President tweeted “Heartfelt condolences to the Government, Royal family and people of Saudi Arabia over the sad demise of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. In his passing away, Saudi Arabia had lost a beloved leader, India a close friend and the world, an elder statesman."Mr. Mukherjee said King Abdullah had genuine warmth and affection for India and its people and was personally committed to improving bilateral ties with India.

President Barack Obama expressed condolences and offered sympathy Thursday to the people of Saudi Arabia upon the death of King Abdullah, an important ally and a major force in the Muslim world.

Obama, who visited with the ailing king in his desert compound last March, praised Abdullah for taking “bold steps” in advancing the Arab Peace Initiative. In a statement, Obama credited the 90—year—old king for being dedicated to the education of his people and for greater outreach to the international community.

“As a leader, he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions,” Obama said. “One of those convictions was his steadfast and passionate belief in the importance of the U.S.—Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond.”