The king is dead, long live the king. Saudi Arabia announced the death of King Abdullah and shortly afterwards that his successor would be heir prince Salman Abdul Aziz al Saud, his half-brother - one of the many sons of the Kingdom's founder Abdul Aziz al Saud.
Prince Salman is almost 80 and has excellent relations and contacts with the country's many tribes, as well as decades of experience in government. He served since the early 1060s as governor of the region of Riyadh, the capital, which became a metropolis under his rule with dozens of skyscrapers where four of Saudi Arabia's 20 million inhabitants live.
He is credited with diplomatic skills as well as shows of force. For example, some have recalled that in 2011 he ordered a crackdown on Riyadh's beggars, deporting foreigners and forcing Saudis to follow a rehabilitation course organized by the social affairs ministry.
He has served since 2011 as a defense minister and played a key role in his country's membership in the anti-ISIS coalition led by the US, with Saudi fighter jets bombing jihadist postings in Syria.
His health has raised some concern as he had a stroke that has given mobility problems to his left arm. He should however guarantee a transition without incidents. He is considered a conservative but also a mediator.
In 2007, well before he was named heir prince in 2012, a memo of the US embassy in Riyadh stated that the large royal family - which includes some 5,000 princes - considers him a ''reference point'' for internal disputes. This is a very important point for a prince that is gearing up for absolute power in a country with 20% of the world's oil reserves, an ultra-traditionalist country with the holiest sites of Islam that will inevitably have to accept political reform to confront increasingly complex regional and international challenges.
The US President Barack Obama recalled Saudi King Abdullah, who died at 91, as a man who contributed to the search for peace in the Arab region.
''King Abdullah's life spanned from before the birth of modern Saudi Arabia through its emergence as a critical force within the global economy and a leader among Arab and Islamic nations,'' President Barack Obama said in a statement.
''He took bold steps in advancing the Arab Peace Initiative, an endeavor that will outlive him as an enduring contribution to the search for peace in the region''.
Obama added he had always appreciated his perspective and their sincere friendship, recalling the close alliance between Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The president also praised the late king for having courage in his beliefs, including faith in the importance of US-Saudi ties, which he described as part of the heritage he leaves behind.
US Vice President Joe Biden will lead a delegation that will travel to Saudi Arabia to pay homage to King Abdullah and pay respects to the family and nation, the White House said.
Biden called his death ''a great loss for his country. It is hard to distinguish him from Saudi Arabia itself. Over many decades, he played an outsized role in building his country''.
''I always appreciated (the king's) frankness, his sense of history, his pride in his efforts to move his country forward, and his steadfast belief in the U.S.-Saudi relationship'', added the vice president.
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