Saudi Arabia's interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, a close friend of the United States and a scourge of Islamist militants, will be the country's first king from the third generation of its ruling dynasty.
King Salman moved swiftly to appoint Mohammed Deputy Crown Prince on Friday, hours after he took the throne following the death of King Abdullah. The decision appeared to settle for many years to come tough decisions over the kingdom's future succession.
By sending an assassin to try to kill Prince Mohammed when he was Saudi security chief in 2009, al-Qaida paid him the compliment of treating him as one of its most dangerous enemies.