The players - resources on key people and personalities in Saudi Arabia.
Issues and ideas - a selection of articles covering key topics.
Perspectives: from the GSN archive - articles from GSN's extensive database.
Saudi government list and other notables
Who's who in the government and other senior positions.
Published September 2010.
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Abdullah on the move in attempt to defuse tribunal tensions
The Saudi monarch started a four-nation tour on 28 July aimed at strengthening inter-Arab relations. The King flew from his summer residence in Casablanca for the first leg of the mission, to Cairo, for talks with ailing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. 
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Turki Al-Faisal on Iraq and US policy
Iraqi concerns about their neighbours’ intensions towards their country may have been underlined by comments from former Saudi General Intelligence Department chief and ambassador to London and Washington Prince Turki Al-Faisal, who has accused Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki of trying to ‘hijack’ the results of the March general election.
Issue 877, 21 May 2010. more
Sharia codification plans divide Saudi clerics
The Council of Ulema has approved King Abdullah’s plans to codify sharia law, but Sahwa preachers are divided over an issue that could significantly reduce their power
Issue 875, 23 April 2010. more
Crown Prince Sultan: Out and about
In mid-March, Crown Prince Sultan toured the southern border region and inspected troops in Jizan. His large entourage included senior family members Bandar Bin Mohammed, Khalid Bin Fahd Bin Khalid, Khalid Bin Saad Bin Fahd (all of the Abdelrahman branch) and Sultan’s son Khalid.
Issue 874, 9 April 2010. more
Also see Issue 868, 18 December 2009. Crown Prince Sultan: Back in the Kingdom
No great leap forward, but King Abdullah remains committed to reform
Abdullah has proved sympathetic to reformists and the emergence of a more tolerant kingdom, promoting national dialogue and seeking to protect vulnerable Saudis. But there are clear limits to this process, imposed by the king’s age and by conservative perceptions that still drive policy
Issue 866, Saudi special, 2 December 2009. Download the PDF
Succession remains a critical issue in a system based on age and genealogy
Since coming to power, King Abdullah has moved to formalise the succession, but the issue is always rife with speculation – much of which recently has focused on Prince Nayef and the growing role of the grandchildren’s generation, writes Eleanor Gillespie
Issue 866, Saudi special, 2 December 2009. Download the PDF
Ailing Al-Bayaa head Mishaal in Geneva
Following rumours last month that Prince Mishaal Bin Abdelaziz may have suffered a stroke, the Allegiance Commission (Al-Hayat Al-Bayaa) chairman is in Geneva for health care.
Issue 863, 23 October 2009. more
Assassination attempt improves Mohammed Bin Nayef’s fortunes
Regional attention is focusing on the assistant interior minister as a serious contender for the Saudi throne following his narrow escape from a terrorist attack, writes Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi
Issue 863, 23 October 2009. more
Bandar ‘out of favour’ over alleged freelance contacts with disaffected military
Controversy over the whereabouts of former Saudi ambassador to the United States Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdelaziz has been reignited by comments made on Iran’s Al-Alam TV by the exiled Islamist oppositionist Saad Al-Fagih. In comments picked up by some other regional media, Al-Fagih alleged that the former envoy was confined to his home because of “contacts” with officers in the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) and Royal Guard. It has not been possible to verify the claims but in a 5 August interview with GSN Fagih was insistent they had veracity.
Issue 859, 7 August 2009. more
Political caution accompanies social reform as King Abdullah keeps establishment on side
The King is overseeing a programme of cautious change, but is reluctant to ease the family hold on real power or alienate powerful religious interests. It takes fine political judgment to bolster the position of his Shammar branch of the family without provoking a rift with the Sudeiris and other powerful factions.
Issue 858, 24 July 2009. more
Also see Issue 858, 24 July 2009. As princes praise patriarch, protocol points to current Al-Saud pecking order
Security veteran Nayef is the coming man, but not yet an assured successor in Saudi Arabia
Promotion to become second deputy PM is a key step towards a throne the interior minister has long coveted, but reports that, with Crown Prince Sultan ailing, Prince Nayef is the anointed successor seem premature as King Abdullah’s true intentions remain unclear.
Issue 851, 17 April 2009. more
Also see Issue 848, 27 February 2009: CP Sultan goes back to America; Issue 845, 16 January 2009 Saudi succession issues surface once more as Sultan rests after US medical trip; Issue 842, 5 December 2008: Succession manoeuvres with Sultan in US for tests; Issue 829, 16 May 2008: As Sultan convalesces, it’s time for a Saudi generational rethink; Issue 828, 2 May 2008: Sultan health fears add impetus to Saudi elite politicking
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Economy & Finances
Economic diversification the priority, social reform moves slowly
Risk management report
Issue 883, 27 August 2010. more
Saudi Arabia leads way on project financing deals
A cluster of new financing facilities has raised well over $10bn, boosting the GCC’s project finance market
Issue 880, 2 July 2010. more
Economy robust, but challenges remain, says Riyad Capital
The Saudi economy did better last year than most analysts expected, with the 2010 budget, the Kingdom’s largest, showing the government’s determination to support the economy through trying times, according to Riyad Capital’s latest Quarterly Saudi Economic Report.
Issue 873, 19 March 2010. more
Government
Protests and debate reflect increasing freedoms in Abdullah’s Kingdom
Political reform still looks far off – and few yet dare to discuss it openly. But almost everything else is on the agenda as Saudis push the limits of their freedom for argument and the Kingdom prepares to celebrate King Abdullah’s five years in power
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Mira attempts to demonstrate support for more radical options
A test of the more tolerant mood in Saudi Arabia will come with the government’s response to the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (Mira)’s new campaign to show it has genuine popular support for more radical political reform.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Oil industry fears policy shift
Comments in early July by King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz that oil production must be halted to leave resources for the next generation has provoked concern across the sector.
Issue 881, 16 July 2010. more
regional relations
Abdullah on the move in attempt to defuse tribunal tensions
The Saudi monarch started a four-nation tour on 28 July aimed at strengthening inter-Arab relations. The King flew from his summer residence in Casablanca for the first leg of the mission, to Cairo, for talks with ailing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Border deal
The Saudi-Kuwaiti technical committee for border demarcation has signed a contract for New Zealand’s NZ Aerial Mapping to carry out the demarcation.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Saudi Arabia/Yemen: Border controls
Marib governor Naji Abdelaziz Al-Zaidi in late June said that Yemen continues to work closely with Saudi security and intelligence on border controls. He said close co-operation was especially aimed at preventing Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula from using Marib’s desert area to cross the border.
Issue 880, 2 July 2010. more
SECURITY ISSUES
Special court head removed
Al-Watan newspaper has reported that the authorities have removed the president and two other judges of the security court where trials are ongoing for hundreds of suspected Islamist militants.
Issue 881, 16 July 2010. more
Al-Qusayir’s arrest highlights role of wives and widows in Saudi terrorism campaign
There is always something new and surprising to learn about militancy in Saudi Arabia, and Al-Qaeda’s pledge to kidnap royals and foreigners has revealed interesting features of the evolving threat
Issue 880, 2 July 2010. more
Al-Qaeda threat to Al-Saud and Christians
A senior member of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has called for supporters to kidnap Christians and Al-Saud members to secure the release of militants held in the Kingdom.
Issue 878, 4 June 2010. more
SUCCESSION
Saudi succession speculation resurfaces as Sultan leaves the Kingdom
The rumour mills are grinding again after Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdelaziz left the Kingdom on 28 August for what the state Saudi Press Agency described as a “private holiday”. Sultan has returned to his palace in Morocco, where he spent much of his time in 2009 convalescing from treatment.
Issue 884, 3 September 2010. more
Prince Sultan taken ill
Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdelaziz is being treated at the King Faisal Hospital in Jeddah, where he was taken after falling ill on 7 August, according to Saudi sources.
Issue 883, 27 August 2010. more
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| Perspectives: from the GSN archive |
Saudi succession speculation resurfaces as Sultan leaves the Kingdom
The rumour mills are grinding again after Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdelaziz left the Kingdom on 28 August for what the state Saudi Press Agency described as a “private holiday”. Sultan has returned to his palace in Morocco, where he spent much of his time in 2009 convalescing from treatment.
Issue 884, 3 September 2010. more
Pay rise for military
The Kingdom is to increase army pay, following military engagement in Yemen and a rise in the cost of living.
Issue 884, 3 September 2010. more
Domestic business
King Abdullah in late August held talks with interior minister and second deputy premier Prince Nayef Bin Abdelaziz and the governors of the Kingdom’s 13 regions.
Issue 884, 3 September 2010. more
Gulf mourns deaths of leading old-school liberals
Two prominent Gulf figures died in August – Saudi Arabia’s labour minister, former diplomat and poet Ghazi Al-Gosaibi and Kuwaiti author and academic Ahmed Al-Baghdadi
Issue 883, 27 August 2010. more
Prince Sultan taken ill
Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdelaziz is being treated at the King Faisal Hospital in Jeddah, where he was taken after falling ill on 7 August, according to Saudi sources.
Issue 883, 27 August 2010. more
First Ex-Im Bank direct loan
The Export-Import Bank of the United States has approved its first direct loan to the Kingdom.
Issue 883, 27 August 2010. more
Economic diversification the priority, social reform moves slowly
Risk management report
Issue 883, 27 August 2010. more
Protests and debate reflect increasing freedoms in Abdullah’s Kingdom
Political reform still looks far off – and few yet dare to discuss it openly. But almost everything else is on the agenda as Saudis push the limits of their freedom for argument and the Kingdom prepares to celebrate King Abdullah’s five years in power
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Mira attempts to demonstrate support for more radical options
A test of the more tolerant mood in Saudi Arabia will come with the government’s response to the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (Mira)’s new campaign to show it has genuine popular support for more radical political reform.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Abdullah on the move in attempt to defuse tribunal tensions
The Saudi monarch started a four-nation tour on 28 July aimed at strengthening inter-Arab relations. The King flew from his summer residence in Casablanca for the first leg of the mission, to Cairo, for talks with ailing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Fox and Morin lose Saudi meetings
British defence minister Liam Fox’s planned three-day visit to Saudi Arabia in late July was called off at the last minute because no senior Saudi government official was around to meet him.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Border deal
The Saudi-Kuwaiti technical committee for border demarcation has signed a contract for New Zealand’s NZ Aerial Mapping to carry out the demarcation.
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Defence procurement
Sikorsky gets MoI helicopter contract; Raytheon contract to deliver missiles to SANG; Potential $30m deal with US; Raytheon wants more deals
Issue 882, 30 July 2010. more
Special court head removed
Al-Watan newspaper has reported that the authorities have removed the president and two other judges of the security court where trials are ongoing for hundreds of suspected Islamist militants.
Issue 881, 16 July 2010. more
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