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Timeline of Major Events in Recent
History:
King Khalid dies
1982 June - King Khalid dies of a heart attack and
is succeeded by his brother, Crown Prince Fahd Bin-Abd-al-Aziz
Al Saud.
1986 November - King Fahd adds the title
"Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" to his name.
1987 - Saudi Arabia resumes diplomatic relations
with Egypt, severed since 1979.
1990 - Saudi Arabia condemns the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait and asks the US to intervene; it allows foreign troops,
the Kuwaiti government and many of its citizens to stay in
Saudi Arabia but expels citizens of Yemen and Jordan due to
their governments' support of Iraq.
Saudi attacks Iraq
1991 - Saudi Arabia is involved in both air attacks
on Iraq and in the land force that went on to liberate Kuwait.
1992 March - King Fahd announces the "Basic
System of Government" emphasising the duties and
responsiblities of a ruler. He proposes setting up a
Consultative Council (majlis al-shura).
1993 September - King Fahd decrees the division of
Saudi Arabia into thirteen administrative divisions.
1993 December - The Consultative Council is
inaugurated. It is composed of a chairman and sixty members
chosen by the King.
1994 - Islamic dissident Osama Bin Laden is stripped
of his Saudi nationality.
King Fahd ill
1995 November - King Fahd has a stroke; the day to
day running of the country is entrusted to Crown Prince
Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud.
1996 February - King Fahd resumes control of state
affairs.
(majlis al-shura) from sixty to ninety.
1999 October - Twenty Saudi women attend a session
of the Consultative Council for the first time.
2000 September - The London-based human rights group
Amnesty International describes Saudi Arabia's treatment of
women, particularly foreign domestic workers, as
"untenable" by any legal or moral standard.
2001 March - Several British workers are arrested in
Riyadh after a series of blasts in which a British and an
American national are killed.
2001 April - Saudi Arabia and Iran sign a major
security accord to combat terrorism, drug-trafficking and
organised crime.
Relations with US
2001 11 September - Fifteen of the 19 hijackers
involved in attacks on New York and Washington are Saudi
nationals.
2001 December - King Fahd calls for the eradication
of terrorism, saying it is prohibited by Islam; government
takes the unprecedented step of issuing identity cards to
women.
2002 February - A British man arrested in Riyadh
after the March 2001 bombings claims the Saudi authorities
tortured him and forced a confession. The man, Ron Jones, had
been released after being allowed to retract his confession.
2002 May - New criminal justice system comes into
force. Revised criminal code includes ban on torture and right
of suspects to legal representation, but human rights
campaigners allege that violations continue.
2002 August - Saudi investors reported to have
withdrawn funds from the US in protest at a lawsuit filed by
relatives of some September 11 victims alleging Saudi
collusion with terror; Saudis allege defamation.
2002 October - Border crossing with Iraq reopens for
the first time since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
2002 November - Saudi foreign minister says his
country will not allow the US to use its facilities to attack
Iraq, even in a UN-sanctioned strike.
2003 April - US says it will pull out almost all its
troops from Saudi Arabia, ending a military presence dating
back to the 1991 Gulf war. Both countries stress that they
will remain allies.
2003 May - Suicide bombers kill 35 people at housing
compounds for Westerners in Riyadh hours before US Secretary
of State Colin Powell flies in for planned visit.
Signs of dissent
2003 September - More than 300 Saudi intellectuals -
women as well as men - sign petition calling for far-reaching
political reforms.
2003 October - Government says elections for 14
municipal councils will be held within a year - the first
elections of any kind since the founding of the kingdom.
2003 October - Police break up unprecedented rally
in centre of Riyadh calling for political reform. More than
270 people are arrested.
2003 November - Suicide attack by suspected al-Qaeda
militants on residential compound in Riyadh leaves 17 dead and
scores injured.
2003 November - King grants wider powers to
Consultative Council (majlis al-shura), enabling it to propose
legislation without his permission.
2004 January - Kingdom says it is prepared to
negotiate substantial reduction of Iraq's debt.
2004 February - Stampede at Hajj pilgrimage leaves
251 dead.
2004 April - Four police officers and a security
officer killed in attacks near Riyadh. Car bomb at security
forces' HQ in Riyadh kills four, wounds 148. Group linked to
al-Qaeda claims responsibility.
2004 May - Attack at petrochemical site in Yanbu
kills five foreigners. Attack and hostage-taking at oil
company compound in Khobar; 22 people are killed.
2004 June - Three gun attacks in Riyadh within a
week leave two Americans and a BBC cameraman dead. The same
week, a US engineer is abducted and beheaded, his filmed death
causing revulsion in America.
Security forces kill local al-Qaeda leader Abdul Aziz al-Muqrin
shortly afterwards, but an amnesty for militants which follows
has only limited effect despite a fall in militant activity.
2004 August - Police investigate the shooting of an
Irishman in a Riyadh office.
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