Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz died

Saudi Arabia King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz passed away on 23 January 2015 following a brief illness. He was 90.

After the death of Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, his brother and Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was named as the new king. The new crown prince is Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Both Salman and Muqrin are younger brothers of Abdullah.

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz

Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1924 and was one among the dozens of sons of Saudi Arabia’s founder, King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud.
• Abdullah was selected as crown prince in 1982 on the day his half-brother Fahd ascended the throne. He became de facto ruler in 1995 when a stroke incapacitated Fahd.
Abdullah ascended to the throne as King in 2005. Abdullah’s biggest priority was to confront Iran, the Shiite powerhouse across the Gulf.
• One of his most ambitious projects was a Western-style university that bears his name, the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology which was opened in 2009.