Envoy to Saudi Arabia Leaving

The United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Hume A. Horan, is leaving his post after only six months because of a personality conflict with King Fahd, a State Department official said today.

Horan is expected to be replaced by career diplomat Walter L. Cutler, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia who was succeeded by Horan last September, the official said. The official, who asked not to be identified, denied a published report that Horan was being withdrawn at Saudi request and that his recall was related to U.S. complaints over the Saudi purchase of Chinese missiles. State Department deputy spokeswoman Phyllis E. Oakley confirmed that Horan was being reassigned but she gave no further details.