Saudi King appoints new deputy prime minister

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah appointed Prince Nayef as the new Deputy Prime Minister Friday in a move state news agency SPA said was "in the interest of the public good."

Prince Nayef's appointment by his half-brother King Abdullah came as the king was preparing to travel to Doha for the Arab summit and to London for the G20.

"Technically, the prime minister does not run the administration. The deputy prime minister runs it," said one Saudi official who asked to remain anonymous.

Prince Nayef was born in 1934 in Taif and served as governor of Riyadh for one year before taking up the position of Minister of the Interior in 1975, his longest held post to date.

The promotion acknowledges Nayef's firm relations with the security services developed during his tenure at the powerful ministry.

Nayef drafted several important proposals on interior issues including fighting illicit drug use in the Arab world, and is credited for implementing the issuance of national identity cards to women in 2001