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This topic brief covers royal succession in Saudi Arabia.  Last week, King Abdullah passed away and power passed to his half brother Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud.  Prior to assuming the throne, King Salman was the country’s Minister of Defense since 2011.  He is considered a conservative reformist and analysts do not expect Saudi Arabia’s friendly relationship with the United States to change under his watch. What concerns some is that King Salman had ties to radical Islamist groups in the past.