Monarch with Global Vision

By Marguerite Johnson

A friend of the U.S., Fahd becomes King of Saudi Arabia

To Arabians, he was a beloved figure, more at home sipping tea with Bedouins in the desert than discussing policy in the corridors of power. Diplomats were often surprised, one visitor recalled, when he would engage them in talk about "the stars, hunting and spring rains, topics that made his eyes brighten." He was a reluctant monarch who ascended the throne to preserve family unity, and he eagerly delegated authority to younger and more sophisticated members of the royal family. When he died last week at the age of 69, Khalid ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, King of Saudi Arabia since 1975, was revered as a wise ruler who provided a mantle of tradition and stability to his country through an era of unparalleled turmoil and change.

The King's death came at an awkward moment. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon had once again exposed the weaknesses and divisions of the Arab world. And Iran's recent victories in the war with Iraq posed an indirect threat to the moderate Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf.

But a swift and sure transition of power had already been arranged by the Saud family's council of elders. Within hours, Khalid was succeeded by Crown Prince Fahd, 60, his able and ambitious half brother, who has in effect been running the kingdom on a day-to-day basis since Khalid became King in 1975. In a voice heavy with emotion, the new King informed his countrymen of Khalid's death over Saudi radio. "Our love for him compels us to continue his march, pursue his hopes and complete his plans," he said. In accordance with Islamic law and Saudi custom, Khalid's body was wrapped in a brown shroud and buried in an unmarked grave before sunset on the day he died.

A more worldly and dynamic personality than Khalid, King Fahd is widely viewed as the Saudi leader most sympathetic to U.S. policies. His accession signals no major change in the kingdom's policies. Said a U.S. State Department official: "We are looking forward to more of the same basically sound cooperative relationship that we have had with Saudi Arabia for the past few years."

With equal speed and in strict accordance with royal protocol, the ruling hierarchy elevated Prince Abdullah, 59, a half brother of Fahd's, to Crown Prince. Abdullah, who is commander of the national guard, is considered an articulate advocate of Arab nationalism and Palestinian rights (see box). Prince Sultan, 58, a full brother of Fahd's, became second in line to the throne. He will retain his positions as Minister of Defense and Aviation and commander of the army.

Saudi specialists say that Fahd's first task will be to shore up his credentials with the traditionalists at home. Despite personality differences between Khalid and Fahd, the two men had complemented each other. Khalid remained close to the nomadic tribes that roam the country's desert wastelands, and his piety and sincerity appealed to devout practitioners of Wahhabism, the orthodox branch of Islam unique to Saudi Arabia. Fahd, on the other hand, gained international respect for his intelligence, flexibility and informed grasp of foreign affairs. But he had much weaker ties to the tribes, and his playboy reputation in his younger years offended more traditional elements in Saudi society.

As chief executive of one of the world's wealthiest countries, Fahd has in recent years become something of a workaholic, although he still keeps palatial mansions in Riyadh, London, Marbella, Geneva and on the Riviera, as well as a 3,600-ton yacht, The Atlantis, in which he cruises the Mediterranean. Says Arabist Peter Iseman: "Fahd has a conspicuously more global vision than a great majority of his brothers. Yet being with him is similar to taking a warm bath: he is extremely agreeable, warm, charming, witty." Friends say he is especially devoted to his son Abdul Aziz, 9, and sometimes interrupts business meetings to take phone calls from the child.

Although Fahd may ultimately prove more forceful than Khalid in espousing policies favorable to the U.S., Saudi specialists caution that he will have to act slowly so as not to offend traditionalists at home and Arab opinion abroad at a time when U.S. military and political support to Israel is being blamed for the latest Arab humiliation in Lebanon. Says Iseman: "This is not a time for the U.S. to expect bold new initiatives from him." Behind the scenes, Fahd has already proved to be a skillful diplomat. After the Israelis launched their drive into Lebanon, Fahd quickly flew to Europe to discuss the situation with President Reagan. Last week, TIME has learned, he conferred with Palestine Liberation Organization Chief Yasser Arafat five times by telephone in a single 24-hour period.

Last year Fahd was the architect of an eight-point peace plan for the Middle East. The plan called for the withdrawal of Israel to its pre-1967 boundaries, for the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and for the right of "all states in the region" to live in peace. Implicitly, Fahd had become one of the first Arab leaders outside Egypt to offer to recognize Israel's right to exist. President Reagan praised the plan as a "hopeful sign," but it was flatly rejected by Israel.

Saudi diplomacy tends to be cautious, and the initial Saudi response to the new war in Lebanon seemed confused, as if the monarchy had been caught off-guard. "They are almost in a schizophrenic state," said Wolf Mendl of the war studies faculty at King's College in London. Mendl noted that "like all Arab states, the Saudis don't have much time for the P.L.O., but they are absolutely committed to the Palestinian cause." Saudi Arabia has a significant Palestinian population of its own. Many Palestinians hold influential positions in the government.

King Fahd is expected to work toward a reconciliation with Egypt, from whom the Saudis have been estranged since Egypt and Israel signed their peace treaty in 1979. In a public gesture that confirmed his declared intention to improve ties with his Arab neighbors, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak flew to Riyadh last week to offer his condolences on Khalid's death. He and Fahd, who remained in discreet contact after 1979, embraced warmly at Riyadh airport.

The Saudis have also been maneuvering behind the scenes to achieve a settlement to the Iran-Iraq war. Quiet negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have taken place in Damascus, with the Syrians acting as intermediaries. The Saudis, who supported Iraqi Strongman Saddam Hussein's invasion of Iran's oil-rich Khuzistan province nearly two years ago, have offered to pay Iran billions of dollars in war reparations.

The Saudis insist that a revolution like the one that occurred in Iran could not happen in their country. But they do have a large Shi'ite Muslim minority, ethnic kin to Iranian Shi'ites, who have traditionally been disadvantaged. After the fall of the Shah of Iran in 1979 and the startling uprising by religious extremists at the Grand Mosque in Mecca later that year, King Khalid acted to improve contacts with disaffected elements in his country.

The new King is probably as skilled and experienced a leader as Saudi Arabia could have today. His will not be an easy reign: the potential for a collision between the forces of development and those of tradition is as acute as ever, as are the possibilities for further regional conflicts. Fahd's biggest challenge will be to maintain the course of political moderation set by his predecessors, a challenge in which the Saudi rulers' traditional virtues of consensus, caution and consistency should greatly assist him. --By Marguerite Johnson. Reported by Raji Samghabadi/New York and William Stewart/Beirut

With reporting by Raji Samghabadi, William Stewart

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