King Abdullah

Born August 1924

Died January 22nd 2015

King Abdullah, who has died aged 90, sought to modernise the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom with cautious but significant reforms, during his two decades on the throne.

The changes he introduced included allowing women to vote for and stand for municipal governments, although democracy does not extend to the powerful religious establishment. He allowed the opening of a new university where men and women could mix in classrooms, arousing the ire of hard liners.

His changes may have looked timid to the outside world. But in a kingdom where ultra-conservative Muslim clerics have long held a lock on all aspects of society, they were seismic.

As one of the world's largest oil exporters, Saudi Arabia is governed by a mix of tribal traditions and perhaps the world's strictest interpretation of Islam. Its royal family prefers to act quietly in the background, shies away from direct confrontation, avoids putting itself on the line and prefers slow-paced change to radical reform.

Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1924 to one of the 22 wives of King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia who reportedly fathered more than 45 children.

Abdullah's mother was from a powerful Bedouin tribe known as the Shammar that were rivals with the king's clan, and the marriage was an apparent way to ease the feuds.

Like all Abdul-Aziz's sons, Abdullah had only rudimentary education, taught by Islamic scholars at his father's court. His strict upbringing was exemplified by the three days he spent in prison as a young man as punishment by his father for not giving up his seat for a visitor, a violation of Bedouin hospitality.

Abdullah rose to be appointed head of Saudi Arabia's National Guard. He was selected as crown prince in 1982 on the day his half-brother Fahd ascended to the throne.

He became the kingdom's de facto leader in 1995 after King Fahd was incapacitated by a stroke, although he didn't formally succeed to the throne for a decade, upon King Fahd's death. During that time he led national dialogue talks that brought together the country's various factions, tribes and settle division.

His immediate successor, his half-brother Crown Prince Salman, was announced king after Abdullah's death. Salman, at 79, had served as defence minister since 2011.

Muqrin was named crown prince. Muqrin, who once oversaw the kingdom's intelligence agency, is the youngest of Abdul-Aziz's sons. Still, he is 69.

As well as domestic reforms, Abdullah became seen as an important western ally. He was a chamion of Arab solidarity and was an outspoken critic of US policy in the Middle East in the 1970s. But he spoke out against violence in the middle east and recently as war in Syria helped give birth to the Islamic State group, he agreed to commit Saudi airpower to a US-led coalition fighting the extremists.

In other countries, Abdullah was an iron-willed defender of the status quo, standing against any pressure from the street to change the autocratic Sunni Arab fraternity of monarchs, emirs and sheiks who rule the Gulf region from Kuwait to Oman. He also rushed to the aid of Egypt's military-backed government when it overthrew that country's Islamist president.

Abdullah also used a mix of largesse and intimidation at home to quell rumblings for change - announcing a more than 90 billion US dollar package of incentives, jobs and services in early 2011 while unleashing riot police to crush scattered street demonstrations, particularly by the Shiite minority in the east.

"You could call Abdullah sort of the leader of the anti-Arab Spring," said Ehsan Ahrari, a political analyst in Alexandria, Virginia, who follows Mideast affairs.

Abdullah ultimately strengthened the Saudi alliance with the United States with close co-operation against al Qaida and against Iran.

President Barack Obama said of the king shortly after his death that "he was always candid and had the courage of his convictions".

The future is unclear and the Saudi ruling council will face the potentially divisive question of how to pass the throne down from the ageing sons of King Abdul-Aziz to the next generation, the grandchildren. That could potentially put succession and power in the hands of one branch of the family at the expense of the others.

Domestic problems are significant. Unemployment remains high among the under-25s, which accounts for around half of the population. The Internet and satellite TV - while censored in Saudi Arabia - are rife with criticism and jokes about the country's woes.

At home, he will be remembered for a reign which opened up small splashes of variety in the kingdom. shortly after he came to power, colour and glitter slowly crept to the all-black abayas women must wear in public. The country's stuffy government-run TV stations started playing music, forbidden for decades. Book fairs opened their doors to women writers and banned books.

Abdullah for the first time gave women seats on the Shura Council, an unelected body that advises the king and government. He promised women would be able to vote and run in 2015 elections for municipal councils, the only elections held in the country. Two Saudi female athletes competed in the Olympics for the first time in 2012, and a small handful of women were granted licenses to work as lawyers during his rule.

Abdullah's wealth was estimated at more than 21 billion US dollars by some sources, which made him one of the world's richest monarchs. He made a number of humanitarian donations, including relief supplies after the Chinese earthquake in 2008 and donations to refurbish a New Orleans school damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, as well as to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.