Word: fahd
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...Fahd was opposed by a number of his half brothers, who wanted to limit the power and influence of the omnipresent Sudeiris; for example, Prince Sultan is Minister of Defense, Prince Ahmed is deputy governor of Mecca, while Prince Salman is governor of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital. Fahd probably had the strength to displace Khalid as heir apparent, but to avoid a devastating family fight he agreed to the compromise under which Khalid would become King and he would be named Crown Prince...
...Prince Fahd, on the other hand, is likely to be the most dynamic heir apparent that Saudi Arabia has ever had. In both style and personality, the affable, perpetually smiling Fahd is a sharp contrast to the dour, ascetic Faisal. Nonetheless the two men worked well together. "Fahd was like the student to the professor," remarked a Western diplomat in Riyadh last week. "In many ways he is a copy of King Faisal...
...Fahd's power derives in part from his talent for administration and specialized knowledge, but also from his remarkable skill in dealing with the desert tribes, from which his family emerged. At his villa in Riyadh, he keeps open house continuously for tribesmen from the desert. "He has the knack of welcoming a visitor as if he has waited all his life to meet him," notes TIME Correspondent Wilton Wynn. " 'He is so amiable and agreeable in conversation,' one friend says, 'that he makes you think he agrees with you, no matter what you discuss...
...Fahd had the Koran-based education of a desert prince, but his six sons have been sent to schools in Europe and the U.S. Unlike Faisal, Fahd has a weakness for certain Western luxuries; he drew criticism from conservative Saudis when he spent five months vacationing in Europe last year, staying there even through the holy month of Ramadan. Still, he is unlikely to loosen up the country's rigid Islamic ways abruptly...
...Fahd believes that oil-rich Saudi Arabia can be modernized by using a benevolent social welfare system as a substitute for elections and representative government. "This," he remarked recently, "is our form of democracy: trying to improve the lot of our ordinary citizens. We base our popularity on our acceptance by the people." Saudi Arabia provides free medical service for its citizens, free education through the university level, farm subsidies and home loans. It also puts up as much as 50% of the capital for a new factory, then consigns its share to the plant's employees. "This makes...