# Death and state funeral of Fahd of Saudi Arabia

Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, died on the morning of 1 August 2005, at the age of 84, in the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. His funeral was held the next day.
In response to Fahd's death, an emergency Arab League summit, which was originally planned to take place in Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt), was delayed with no rescheduled date confirmed. Many world leaders offered condolences, and several countries declared a period of national mourning.

## Illness and death

In June 1982, Fahd ascended to the throne following the passing of his half-brother, Khaled. After experiencing a stroke in 1995, the king's health declined, leading to Crown Prince Abdullah assuming his half-brother's functions as regent.
On 27 May 2005, Fahd was admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital due to pneumonia and a high fever. He died there on 1 August at around 09:30 KSA time. The official announcement of his death was made by the Minister of Information, Iyad bin Amin Madani, and Saudi television interrupted regular programming with recitations of the Quran.
Fahd's half-brother Abdullah, as crown prince, ascended the throne as king, and appointed Prince Sultan, Minister of Defense, as the new crown prince. A formal bay'ah ceremony was held in which clerics, tribal leaders and government officials pledged allegiance to the new king.

## Funeral

In accordance with Islamic tradition, Fahd's funeral took place at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque the day after his death. It was closed to non-Muslim dignitaries, who separately held meetings with the new king later.

### Attendees
#### Royalty

* The King of Bahrain
* The Sultan of Brunei
* The Crown Prince of Japan (representing the Emperor of Japan)
* Abdullah II
* Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of Kuwait (representing the Emir of Kuwait)
* Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco (representing the King of Morocco)
* The Crown Prince of Norway (representing the King of Norway)
* The Sultan of Oman
* The Emir of Qatar
* The King of Sweden
* The Prince of Wales (representing the Queen of the United Kingdom)

#### Other

* Secretary-General Amr Moussa
* President Hamid Karzai
* President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
* Governor-General Michael Jeffery
* President Ilham Aliyev
* President Iajuddin Ahmed
* Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan Terzić
* Vice premier Hui Liangyu (representing president Hu Jintao)
* President Václav Klaus
* President Ismail Omar Guelleh
* President Hosni Mubarak
* President Jacques Chirac
* Vice president Jusuf Kalla
* First vice president Mohammad Reza Aref
* President Jalal Talabani
* Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari
* Former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto
* President Émile Lahoud
* President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya
* Vice president Atiku Abubakar
* President Pervez Musharraf
* President Mahmoud Abbas
* Vice president Noli de Castro
* President Abdoulaye Wade
* Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan
* Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa
* President Samuel Schmid
* President Bashar al-Assad
* Foreign minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon
* President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
* Foreign minister Abdullah Gül
* President Ali Abdullah Saleh
* Vice president Dick Cheney
* Former president George H. W. Bush