SAUDI ARABIA - The Political Leadership.

King Fahd ibn Abdul-Aziz died on Aug. 1, 2005, and was succeeded on the same day by his half-brother Abdullah who quickly appointed Fahd's full-brother Sultan as crown prince. As King Abdullah has retained control over the National Guard, Crown Prince Sultan has retained control over the regular armed forces in his capacity as minister of defence and became deputy PM - with the king having the post of PM. But there is no second deputy PM, a position long regarded as being important because it indicated the person next in the line of succession to the throne.

King Abdullah has proved to be both bold and prudent at the same time, generous but firm, fair but determined to fight the violent Neo-Wahhabi/Neo-Salafi militants who - he has said - must either repent and thus be helped to be rehabilitated, or be eliminated by force. With these and many other leadership qualities, he has the capability of maintaining consensus among the leaders of the royal family.

King Abdullah has proved to be more progressive, in terms of responding to the need for the al-Saud regime to gradually liberalise, than his conservative wing of the royal family would suggest. Until he became a de facto ruler of the kingdom in late 1995, when King Fahd had a stroke, the royal family used to be more polarised reflecting its two distinct wings. Until then, the progressive wing of the family used to be represented by King Fahd and his full-brothers - the famous "Sudairi Seven" - and their allies.

The progressive wing was identified with the pro-US members of the royal family, while Abdullah's conservative wing used to be seen as a nationalist faction keeping a distance from the US and more sympathetic towards Europe - with emphasis on friendship with powers like France. But in reality that polarisation came to an end, having weakened considerably after Saddam Hussein's Iraq broke Arab nationalist ranks by invading Kuwait in August 1990. The survival of the House of Saud was at stake for both the progressive and conservative factions when Saddam's forces in late 1990 appeared to be threatening Saudi Arabia, as well as the other GCC states.

Saudi dependence on a US-led coalition of powers to liberate Kuwait in early 1991 was followed by the closing of ranks among the pillars of the royal family. This was re-affirmed in late 1995 when Abdullah was empowered to rule the country on behalf of King Fahd.

In October 2006 King Abdullah decreed a law on the succession to the throne; and on Oct. 8, 2007, he issued a decree detailing regulations to implement that law. The 18 articles in the new regulations outline who can become a member of the Allegiance Commission (AC), the body entrusted with voting for future kings under the 2006 law. It stipulates what should be done if a member dies and how a crown prince should be chosen.

Under the new executive statute, the AC should be composed of the sons of the founder, King Abdul-Aziz (ibn-Saud). If the sons are deceased, incapacitated or not interested, then the membership goes to one of their sons. The member should not be less than 22 in age and each member "should be a man of a good reputation", according to the statute. The membership period is fixed at four years and can only be renewed with the agreement of the king and the member's brothers.