ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 2, 1996 TAG: 9601020192
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PARIS
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
King Fahd of Saudi Arabia handed over authority Monday to his half-brother, Crown Prince Abdullah, saying he needed time to rest.
A royal decree directed the crown prince ``to take over management of government affairs while we enjoy rest and recuperation.'' The king's order did not say how long he expected to be absent.
Saudi officials said the king was not abdicating, but was taking a medical leave to recover from exhaustion. Fahd, 74, was taken to a hospital emergency room a little more than a month ago, and the Saudi government said he was suffering the effects of his heavy workload, persistently denying Western officials' reports that the king had suffered a stroke.
Fahd was released from the hospital Dec. 7, with assurances to the public that his health had improved. While he was shown on television receiving members of the royal family and senior officials, he has left all business of government to the crown prince for weeks, officials say.
Saudi Arabian businessmen said the transition was smooth and elicited no outward signs of dissent within the royal family. Crown Prince Abdullah, 72, was long ago designated to succeed Fahd. Third in line for the throne is Prince Sultan, the defense minister and a full brother of the king
Abdullah, while not a member of the powerful Sudeiri clan of Fahd, has his own power base among the large Bedouin tribes of Saudi Arabia and in the 57,000-member National Guard that he commands. He is known to be an Arab nationalist who strongly favors unity among Arab countries. He maintains close personal ties with Syrian President Hafez Assad and has spoken a number of times of the need to rebuild the cohesion among Arab countries that was shattered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait five years ago.
LENGTH: Short : 40 linesby CNB