Fahd Al Sahra :: The Diplomat King

When, in 1981, Margaret Thatcher met Fahd bin Abdul Aziz for the first time, she came away unimpressed. “You say this man runs the country,” she sniffed; “he didn’t have a word to say for himself.” She was wrong.

Fahd was crown prince at the time, and what Thatcher didn’t realize was how very punctilious is the House of Saud in its notions of hierarchy. Deferential conventions helped preserve both the cohesion of a vast royal family and the allegiance to it of a people still denied even the outward trappings of popular sovereignty. So when King Khaled received her, Fahd, also there, could only speak when spoken to.

Nepal is to observe two days of mourning for the late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, the Nepalese Home Ministry said on Wednesday.

The Nepalese national flags were to fly at half-mast in all government buildings across the country and in Nepalese diplomatic missions abroad Wednesday and Thursday, the announcement said.

Nepal’s Crown Prince Paras left the Nepalese capital for Riyadh Wednesday morning to convey condolences on behalf of King Gyanendra and the Nepalese people on the demise of King Fahd.

In a message to King Abdullah Tuesday, Nepal’s King Gyanendra said, “In the demise of King Fahd Nepal has lost a good friend and well wisher”.

Saudi clerics, tribal chiefs and officials pledged allegiance to King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz on Wednesday in a ceremony seen as a public endorsement of the new monarch of the oil powerhouse.

One day after world leaders joined ordinary Saudi citizens in bidding farewell to King Fahd, who died on Monday aged 84, prominent figures converged on a royal palace in Riyadh to swear allegiance to King Abdullah and new Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz.

More foreign leaders flew in to offer condolences after the death of Fahd and congratulate the new monarch, his half-brother and de facto ruler since the late king suffered a stroke a decade ago.

Heads of state from the Islamic world and Saudi princes and Islamic clerics prayed for the late King Fahd in a packed Riyadh mosque Monday, bidding farewell to this oil-rich country’s ruler for almost a quarter of a century.

Fahd’s body was brought into the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque, wrapped in a plain brown cloth on a wooden plank carried by his sons, and placed in the middle of the mosque amid the crowd of thousands, including his successor, King Abdullah.

Thousands crowded in the mosque, some with tears in their eyes as the special prayer for the dead began.

A great leader, much loved by his people, King Fahd was the son of the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Abdulaziz.

Born in 1922, King Fahd’s life was one of positive achievement, both in the national and international arenas.

One of his first official engagements on behalf of Saudi Arabia was as a participant in the San Francisco conference that established the United Nations and of which Saudi Arabia was a founding member.

In separate messages to the newly-appointed Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdel Aziz and Crown Prince Amir Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, top Iranian officials expressed condolences on the death of King Fahd bin Abdel Aziz.

Outgoing President Mohammad Khatami pleaded for God’s mercy for King Fahd, wishing health and success for his successor and Saudi people.

Likewise, President-Elect Mahmud Ahmadinejad, Majlis Speaker Gholam-Ali Haddad Adel, and the Expediency Council Chairman Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani expressed condolences to the Saudi nation and government and expressed hope that bilateral ties between the two countries would expand under the leadership of King Abdullah.

Source: MehrNews

Vice President Aliu Mahama on Tuesday described the late Saudi King Fahd, as the defender of stability in the Middle East and the supporter of the Arab and Muslim cause.

Speaking during a special Muslim prayers in memory of King Fahd, who died on Monday from respiratory problems, Alhaji Mahama said the late Leader facilitated the peace process in war ravaged Lebanon and “put the safety of his people above everything else”.

Describing him as a “towering personality” who won the admiration the world over for his leadership qualities, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed deep sorrow at the passing away of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

In a letter written to the monarch’s successor, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Manmohan Singh said: “I learnt with deep sadness of the passing away of King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the two Holy Mosques. King Fahd ’s towering personality won the admiration of all who knew him around the world.

The death Sunday of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz has potential to create global instability in price-sensitive oil markets.

But the succession of Fahd’s half brother, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, 81, is no surprise: He has acted as de facto king for a decade.

And the political transition now to his full rule is expected to be smooth, with U.S.-Saudi relations remaining strong, experts say.

“I see more of the same,” predicts David Commins, a history professor at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., and author of a coming book, “The Wahabi Mission in Saudi Arabia.” He foresees no “instability that is going to threaten this dynasty.”

Head of the Iraqi National Society, Dr. Hajim Al-Hussaini, Forwarded Monday his condolences to the people of Saudi Arabia, for the demise of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz.

Al-Hussaini told a Baghdad press conference today, “We extend our deep condolences to the Saudi people for the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz”.

In Cairo, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak sent his condolences to the Saudi people in his name and on behalf of the Egyptian people.