Saudi Arabia’s royal court announced on 27 March that Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, half brother of King Abdullah, has been named deputy crown prince, placing him second-in-line to the throne.

Born in 1945, Prince Muqrin is the youngest son of King Abdulaziz al-Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.

His appointment by royal decree was announced on Saudi television and ends widespread speculation about who would succeed Crown Prince Salman, the king’s designated successor.The statement says he will retain his title as second deputy prime minister and adviser to the king.

Prince Muqrin is a former air force officer who has served as governor of the regions of Hail and Medina, and has managed the kingdom relation’s with Afghanistan and Pakistan. As head of intelligence from 2005 to 2012, Prince Muqrin focused on confronting al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He was educated in the UK and the US.

There is no formal line of succession in Saudi Arabia, where six kings have ruled since the kingdom’s formation in 1932. In 2007, King Abdullah gave the Allegiance Council, an appointed commission of princes, increased power to select a new ruler and crown prince.

Saudi Arabia’s 1992 basic law stipulates the king must be a male descendant of King Abdulaziz. King Abdullah, who came to the throne in 2005, is his 13th son.

King Abdullah named his defence minister and half-brother Prince Salman, born in 1935, crown prince in June 2012, making the traditionalist former governor of Riyadh next in line to become king.