Saudi king names Prince Salman to defence post

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King Abdullah on Saturday named his half-brother Prince Salman, who is governor of Riyadh, as Saudi Arabia's defence minister to succeed the late Crown Prince Sultan, state television Al-Ekhbariya said.

Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz was appointed Riyadh's governor in Prince Salman's place, the report said, citing a series of royal decrees, under which Prince Khaled bin Sultan, the late crown prince's son, was named deputy defence minister.

King Abdullah late last month named Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz as crown prince succeeding his brother Sultan, who died in a US hospital on October 22.

Salman, who was born in 1935 and served as Riyadh's governor since 1955, and Nayef are full brothers.

He was considered close to Sultan, who he accompanied on his trips abroad for medical treatment.