( CNN ) -- Saudi Arabia named Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz to be crown prince Monday , the state news agency reported , putting him next in line to the throne of the oil-rich kingdom . His appointment comes a day after burial services for Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz , whose death was announced Saturday . Salman , 76 , who was already defense minister , retains that post and becomes deputy prime minister as well , the Saudi Press Agency reported Monday , citing a royal order . He is a brother of the late King Fahd and Crown Prince Nayef , and a half-brother of King Abdullah . He became defense minister in November . Salman 's official biography on the website of the kingdom 's Interior Ministry says he had memorized the Quran by the age of 10 . Nayef , a hard-line conservative credited with pushing back al Qaeda , was interior minister as well as crown prince . Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz is replacing him as interior minister , the Saudi Press Agency said . Nayef was named crown prince in October by his brother , the king . Saudi state TV , which reported his death Saturday , broadcast Quran readings as an expression of mourning for the prince , who died in Geneva , Switzerland . He was in his late 70s . `` It is a shock . We all knew his health was frail , but his death is a shock , '' Saudi Foreign Ministry spokesman Osama Nogali said . `` We still do n't know the reason behind his death . '' Abdullah attended the funeral , along with Gen. Hussein Tantawi , the head of Egypt 's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces . U.S. President Barack Obama released a statement Saturday offering his condolences . `` Under his leadership , the United States and Saudi Arabia developed a strong and effective partnership in the fight against terrorism , one that has saved countless American and Saudi lives , '' he said . He praised Nayef for supporting a broad partnership between Saudi Arabia and the United States . U.S. Vice President Joe Biden similarly offered his condolences and hailed the former leader as an important ally in the fight against terror . Nayef had been Saudi interior minister since 1975 , overseeing the kingdom 's counterterrorism efforts . He also was deputy premier . A classified U.S. Embassy cable leaked by the website WikiLeaks described Nayef as a hard-line conservative who was lukewarm to King Abdullah 's reform initiatives . Nayef led the crackdown against hard-line Islamists who took control of Mecca in 1979 and also oversaw the smashing of Saudi-based al Qaeda cells in the early 2000s . In recent years , his son , Prince Mohammed bin Nayef , led the kingdom 's fight against al Qaeda as the elder Nayef seemed to have taken more of a back seat . CNN 's Nima Elbagir , Rima Maktabi , Hamdi Alkhshali , Mohammed Jamjoom , Caroline Faraj and Kevin Flower contributed to this report .
NEW : Salman is a half -brother of Prince Nayef . He becomes next in line to the throne of the oil-rich kingdom . Salman retains his post as defense minister and becomes deputy prime minister . His predecessor , Salman , was buried 76 .