Long-serving Saudi oil minister Yamani dies at 90

Ahmed Zaki Yamani, a long-serving oil minister in Saudi Arabia who led the kingdom through the 1973 oil crisis and was later kidnapped by the assassin Carlos the Jackal, died Tuesday in London. He was 90.

Saudi state television reported his death, without offering a cause.

It said he would be buried in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

Known for his Western-style business suits and soft-spoken, measured tones, Sheikh Yamani helped Saudi Arabia command a dominating presence in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

Yamani became oil minister in 1962 and led the ministry until 1986.

He served a crucial role in the nascent oil cartel as producers around the world began to try to dictate prices to the world market previously dominated by the economic policies of Western nations.