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Abdul-Aziz bin Saud عبد العزيز آل سعود
King of Saudi Arabia King of Nejd and Hejaz
King of Saudi Arabia
Reign	14 August 1932 – 9 November 1953
Predecessor	Himself as King of Nejd and Hejaz
Successor	Saud
King of Nejd and Hejaz
Reign	8 January 1926 – 23 September 1932
Successor	Himself as King of Saudi Arabia
Issue
Prince Turki of Najd King Saud King Faisal Prince Muhammad King Khalid Prince Nasser Prince Saad King Fahd Prince Mansour Prince Bandar Prince Musa'id King Abdullah Prince Mishaal Prince Sultan Prince Abdul-Muhsin Prince Majed Prince Abdul-Rahman Prince Mutaib Prince Talal Prince Badr Prince Nawwaf Crown Prince Nayef Prince Turki the Sudairi Prince Fawwaz Prince Abdulillah Prince Salman Prince Ahmed Prince Mamdouh Prince Abdul-Majeed Prince Sattam Prince Muqrin Princess Al-Bandari Princess Sultana Princess Luluwah Prince Hamoud Princess Huzza Princess Haya Princess Seeta
Full name
Abdul-Aziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Saud
House	House of Saud
Father	Abdul-Rahman bin Faisal
Born	1876 Riyadh, Second Saudi State
Died	9 November 1953 (aged 77) Saudi Arabia
Religion	Sunni Islam (Salafi)

This article contains Arabic text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined Arabic letters written left-to-right instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Arabic script.

King Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia (1876^[1] – 9 November 1953) (Arabic: عبد العزيز آل سعود‎ ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd) was the first monarch of Saudi Arabia, the third Saudi State.^[2] He was usually called Ibn Saud in English-speaking countries.^[3]

Beginning with the reconquest of his family's ancestral home city of Riyadh in 1902, he consolidated his control over the Najd in 1922, then conquered the Hijaz in 1925. Having conquered almost all of central Arabia, he united his dominions into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. As King, he presided over the discovery of petroleum in Saudi Arabia in 1938 and the beginning of large-scale oil exploitation after World War II. He was the father of many children having 45 sons^[4], including all of the subsequent kings of Saudi Arabia.

Early life[link]

Abdul-Aziz was born in 1876 in Riyadh, in the region of Najd in central Arabia.

In 1890, the Al Rashid conquered Riyadh. Abdul-Aziz was 15 at the time.^[5] He and his family initially took refuge with the Al-Murrah, a Bedouin tribe in the southern desert of Saudi Arabia. Later, the Al Sauds moved to Kuwait.

Abdul-Aziz lived with his family in a simple dwelling. His primary occupation, and the family's sole source of income, was undertaking raids in the Najd. He also attended the daily majlis of the emir of Kuwait, Mubarak Al-Sabah, from whom he learned the art of statecraft.^{[citation needed]}

In the spring of 1901, he and some relatives – including a half-brother, Mohammed, and several cousins – set out on a raiding expedition into the Najd, targeting for the most part tribes associated with the Rashidis. As the raid proved profitable, it attracted more participants. The raiders' numbers peaked at over 200, though these numbers dwindled over the ensuing months.^{[citation needed]}

In the fall, the group made camp in the Yabrin oasis. While observing Ramadan, he decided to attack Riyadh and retake it from the Al Rashidi. On the night of 15 January 1902, he led 40 men over the walls of the city on tilted palm trees and took the city.^[6] The Rashidi governor of the city, Ajlan, was killed in front of the gate to his own fortress. The Saudi recapture of the city marked the beginning of the Third Saudi State.

Rise to power[link]

Following the capture of Riyadh, many former supporters of the House of Saud rallied to Ibn Saud's call to arms. He was a charismatic leader and kept his men supplied with arms. Over the next two years, he and his forces recaptured almost half of the Najd from the Rashidis.

In 1904, Ibn Rashid appealed to the Ottoman Empire for military protection and assistance. The Ottomans responded by sending troops into Arabia. On 15 June 1904, Ibn Saud's forces suffered a major defeat at the hands of the combined Ottoman and Rashidi forces.^{[citation needed]} His forces regrouped and began to wage guerrilla warfare against the Ottomans. Over the next two years he was able to disrupt their supply routes, forcing them to retreat.

He completed his conquest of the Najd and the eastern coast of Arabia in 1912. He then founded the Ikhwan, a military-religious brotherhood which was to assist in his later conquests, with the approval of local Salafi ulema. In the same year, he instituted an agrarian policy to settle the nomadic pastoralist bedouins into colonies, and to dismantle their tribal organizations in favor of allegiance to the Ikhwan.^{[citation needed]}

During World War I, the British government established diplomatic relations with Ibn Saud. The British agent, Captain William Shakespear, was well received by the Bedouin.^[7] Similar diplomatic missions were established with any Arabian power who might have been able to unify and stabilize the region. The British entered into a treaty in December 1915 (the "Treaty of Darin") which made the lands of the House of Saud a British protectorate and attempted to define the boundaries of the developing Saudi state.^[8] In exchange, Ibn Saud pledged to again make war against Ibn Rashid, who was an ally of the Ottomans.

Shakespear died at the Battle of Jarrab. He was followed by St John Philby in 1917 seconded by the British India Office. The British Foreign Office had previously begun to support Sharif Hussein bin Ali, Emir of the Hejaz by seconding Lawrence of Arabia to him in 1915. The Saudi Ikhwan began to conflict with Emir Feisal also in 1917 just as his sons Abdullah and Feisal entered Damascus. The Treaty of Darin remained in effect until superseded by the Jeddah conference of 1927 and the Dammam conference of 1952 during both of which Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud extended his boundaries past the Anglo-Ottoman Blue Line. After Darin, he stockpiled the weapons and supplies with which the British provided him,^{[citation needed]} including a 'tribute' of (£5,000 Sterling per month). After World War One he received further support from the British, including a glut of surplus munitions. He launched his campaign against the Al Rashidi in 1920; by 1922 they had been all but destroyed.

The defeat of the Al Rashidi increased the size of Saudi territory twofold. This allowed Ibn Saud the leverage to negotiate a new and more favorable treaty with the British. Their treaty, signed at Uqair in 1922, saw Britain recognize many of his territorial gains.^{[citation needed]} In exchange, Ibn Saud agreed to recognize British territories in the area, particularly along the Persian Gulf coast and in Iraq. The former of these were vital to the British, as merchant traffic between British India and England depended upon coaling stations on the approach to the Suez Canal.

In 1925 the forces of Ibn Saud captured the holy city of Mecca from Sharif Hussein bin Ali, ending 700 years of Hashemite rule. On 10 January 1926, Ibn Saud proclaimed himself King of the Hejaz in the Great Mosque at Mecca. On 20 May 1927, the British government signed the Treaty of Jeddah, which abolished the Darin protection agreement and recognized the independence of the Hejaz and Najd with Ibn Saud as its ruler.

With international recognition and support, Ibn Saud continued to consolidate his power, eventually conquering nearly all of the central Arabian Peninsula. However, the alliance between the Ikhwan and the Al Saud collapsed when Ibn Saud forbade further raiding; the remaining territories all had treaties with London. This didn't sit well with the Ikwhan, who had been taught that all non-Wahhabis were infidels. Tensions finally boiled over when the Ikwhan rebelled in 1927. After two years of fighting, they were suppressed by Ibn Saud in the Battle of Sabilla in March 1929.

On 18 September 1932, Ibn Saud united his dominions into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with himself as its king.^[9]

Ibn Saud had to first eliminate the right of his own father in order to rule, and then distance and contain the ambitions of his five brothers – particularly his oldest brother Muhammad who fought with him during the battles and conquests that had given birth to the state.^[10]

Oil and the rule of Ibn Saud[link]

Oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938 by American geologists working for Standard Oil of California in partnership with Saudi officials. Through his advisers St. John Philby and Ameen Rihani, he granted substantial authority over Saudi oil fields to American oil companies in 1944, much to the dismay of the British who had invested heavily in the House of Saud's rise to power in hopes of open access to any oil reserves that were to be surveyed. Beginning in 1915, Ibn Saud signed the "friendship and cooperation" pact with Britain to keep his militia in line and cease any further attacks against their protectorates for whom they were responsible. Not only did the British pay a generous monthly allowance for his cooperation, in 1935 he was knighted into the Order of the Bath.

His new found oil wealth brought with it a great deal of power and influence that, naturally, Ibn Saud would use to advantage in the Hijaz. He forced many nomadic tribes to settle down and abandon "petty wars" and vendettas. He also began widespread enforcement of new kingdom's ideology, based on the teachings of Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. This included an end to traditionally sanctioned rites of pilgrimage, recognized by the orthodox schools of jurisprudence, but at odds with those sanctioned by Abd al Wahhab. In 1926, after a caravan of Egyptians on the way to Mecca were beaten for playing bugles by his forces, he was impelled to issue conciliatory statement to the Egyptian government. In fact, several such statements were issued to Muslim government around the world as a result of beatings suffered by the pilgrims visiting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.^{[citation needed]} With the uprising of and subsequent decimation thereafter of the Ikhwan in 1929, via British air power, the 1930s marked a turning point. With his rivals eliminated, Ibn Saud's ideology was in full force, ending nearly 1400 years of accepted religious practices surrounding the Hajj, the majority of which were sanctioned by a millennia of scholarship.

Abdulaziz established a Shura Council of the Hijaz as early as 1927. This Council was later expanded to 20 members, and was chaired by the king’s son, Faisal bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud.^[11]

Foreign wars[link]

Ibn Saud was able to gain loyalty from tribes even nearby Saudi Arabia, tribes such as those in Jordan. For example, he built very strong ties with Prince Sheikh Rashed Al- Khuzai from Al Fraihat tribe, one of the most influential and royal roots family during the Ottomans Empire. Prince Rashed Al-Khuzai and his tribe had dominated eastern Jordan before the arrival of Sharif Hussein.^[12] Ibn Saud supported Prince Rashed Al-Khuzai and his followers in rebellion against the Hussein.^[13][14]

Prince Rashed supported Izz ad-Din al-Qassam's Palestinian revolution in 1935 which led him and his followers in rebellion against King Abdullah of Jordan. And later at 1937, when they were forced to leave Jordan, Prince Rashed Al Khuzai, his family, and a group of his followers chose to move to Saudi Arabia, where Prince Al Khuzai was living for several years in the hospitality of King Abdul-Aziz Al Saud.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]}

He positioned Saudi Arabia as neutral in World War II, but was generally considered to favor the Allies.^[20] However, in 1938, when an attack on a main British pipeline in the Kingdom of Iraq was found to be connected to the German Ambassador, Dr. Fritz Grobba, Ibn Saud provided Grobba with refuge.^[21] It was reported that he had been "on the outs"^{[clarification needed]} with the British since 1937.^[22]

In 1948, he participated in the Arab-Israeli War. Saudi Arabia's contribution was generally considered token.^[20]

Later years[link]

While the members of the royal family wanted heavenly gardens, splendid cars, and concrete palaces, Abd Al-Aziz wanted a royal railway from the Persian Gulf to Riyadh and then an extension to Jeddah. The shrine was regarded by all of the advisers living in the country as an old man's folly. Eventually, ARAMCO built the railway, which costs $70 million, drawn from the King's oil royalties. It was completed in 1951 and was used commercially after the king's death, enabling Riyadh to grow into a relatively modern city. But when a paved road was built in 1962, the railway lost its traffic.^[23]

Family[link]

King Ibn Saud converses with President Franklin D. Roosevelt (right) through translator Colonel Bill Eddy, on board the USS Quincy, after the Yalta Conference. Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy (left) watches.

Ibn Saud's mother was a Sudairi,^[24] Sarah al Sudairi.^[25]

The number of children that Ibn Saud fathered is unknown. One source indicates that he had 37 sons. His number of wives is put at 22.^[26]

1. Wadhah bint Muhammad bin 'Aqab^[27]
   1. Turki (I) (1900–1919)
   2. Saud (12 January 1902 – 23 February 1969); reigned 1953–1964
   3. Nura
   4. Munira
2. Tarfah bint Abdullah Al-AlSheikh
   1. Khaled (I) (born 1903, died in infancy)
   2. Faisal (April 1906 – 25 March 1975); reigned 1964–1975
   3. Saad (I) (1914–1919)
   4. Anud (born 1917)
3. Lulua bint Salih Al-Dakhil
   1. Fahd (I) (1905–1919)
4. Jauhara bint Musaid Al Saud
   1. Muhammad (1910–1988)
   2. Khalid (II) (1913 – 13 June 1982); reigned 1975–1982
5. Lajah bint Khalid bin Hithlayn
   1. Sara (1916 – June 2000)
6. Bazza I
   1. Nasser (1919–1984)
7. Jawhara bint Saad bin Abdul-Muhsin al-Sudairi
   1. Saad (II) (1920–1993)
   2. Musa'id (born 1923)
   3. Abdul-Mohsin (1925–1985)
   4. Al-Bandari (1928–2008)^[28]
8. Hassa bint Ahmad al-Sudairi
   (The sons are known as the "Sudairi Seven")
   1. Fahd (II) (1920 – 1 August 2005); reigned 1982–2005
   2. Sultan (1928–2011)
   3. Luluwah (ca 1928–2008)^[29]
   4. Abdul-Rahman (born 1931)
   5. Naif (born 1933); current crown prince
   6. Turki (II) (born 1934)
   7. Salman (born 1936)
   8. Ahmed (born 1942)
   9. Jawaher
   10. Lateefa
   11. Al-Jawhara
   12. Moudhi (died young)
   13. Felwa (died young)
9. Shahida
   1. Mansour (1922 – 2 May 1951)
   2. Mishaal (born 1926)
   3. Qumash (1927– September 2011)^[30]
   4. Mutaib (born 1931)
10. Fahda bint Asi al Shuraim
    1. Abdullah (born August 1922); current king, since 2005
    2. Nuf
    3. Seeta (c. 1930 – 13 April 2011)
11. Bazza (the second wife named Bazza)
    1. Bandar (born 1923)
    2. Fawwaz (1934–2008)
    3. Mishari (1932 – 23 May 2000)
12. Haya bint Sa'ad al-Sudairy (1913 – 18 April 2003)
    1. Badr (I) (1931–1932)
    2. Badr (II) (born 1933)
    3. Huzza (1951 – July 2000)
    4. Abdul Ilah (born 1935)
    5. Abdul-Majeed (1943–2007)
    6. Nura (born 1930)
    7. Mishail
13. Munaiyir (died December 1991, funeral prayer led by King Fahd^[31])
    1. Talal (I) (1930–1931)
    2. Talal (II) (born 1932)^[31]
    3. Nawwaf (born 1933)^[31]
    4. Madawi^[31]
14. Mudhi
    1. Sultana (ca. 1928 – 7 July 2008)^[32]
    2. Haya (ca. 1929 – 2 November 2009)^[33]
    3. Majid (II) (9 October 1938 – 12 April 2003)
    4. Sattam (born 21 January 1941)
15. Nouf bint al-Shalan
    1. Thamir (1937 – 27 June 1959)
    2. Mamduh (born 1941)
    3. Mashhur (born 1942)
16. Saida al-Yamaniyah
    1. Hidhlul (born 1941)
17. Khadra
18. Baraka al-Yamaniyah
    1. Muqrin (born 15 September 1945)
19. Futayma
    1. Hamoud (1947–1994)
20. By Unknown
    1. Shaikha (born 1922)
    2. Majed (I) (1934–1940)
    3. Abdul-Saleem (1941–1942)
    4. Jiluwi (I) (1942–1944)
    5. Jiluwi (II) (1952–1952) (the youngest son of Ibn Saud but died as an infant).

Relations with family members[link]

Abdulaziz is said to be very close his aunt, al-Johara bint Faysal. She was a key motivator for him and persuaded him to return back to the Najd from Kuwait and regain the land of his family. She was well educated in Islam and was among the king’s most trusted advisors. Abdulaziz asked her about the experiences of past rulers and the historical allegiance and role of tribes and individuals. Al-Johara was also deeply respected by the king’s children. Abdulaziz used to visit her daily until she died around 1930.^[34]

Abdulaziz was also very close to Nuora, his one-year elder sister. On several occasions, he identified himself in public by proclaiming: “I am the brother of Nora.”^[35][36] Nuora died a few years before King Abdulaziz.^[37]

Views[link]

In regard to essential values for the state and people he said that 'Two things are essential to our State and our people ... religion and the rights inherited from our fathers.'^[38]

Abdul Aziz’s opinion of women’s education was encouraging. He expressed his support for women’s education. In a conversation with St John Philby, a British explorer, a close friend and adviser for Abdulaziz, stated “It is permissible for women to read.”^[39]

His last words to his two sons, the future king Saud and the next in line Prince Faisal, who were already battling each other, were: 'You are brothers, unite!'^[40]

Briefly before his death, King Abdulaziz stated "Verily, my children and my possessions are my enemies."^[41]

Notes[link]

References[link]

Directories

• SAMIRAD website – Saudi Arabia Market Information and Directory directory category

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia

External links[link]

• "Semitic Friends.". Time Magazine. 3 July 1939. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,761578,00.html. Retrieved 29 July 2009. 
• "The Battle Joins.". Time Magazine. 26 May 1941. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,765635,00.html. Retrieved 25 July 2009. 

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Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud سلطان بن عبد العزيز آل سعود
Crown Prince First Deputy Prime Minister Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General
Prince Sultan in the White House
Full name
Sultan bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Saud
House	House of Saud
Father	King Abdulaziz
Mother	Hassa al Sudairi
Born	(1929-12-30)30 December 1929 Riyadh, Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz
Died	21 October 2011(2011-10-21) (aged 80) New York City, United States
Burial	26 October 2011 Al Oud cemetery, Riyadh
Religion	Islam

This article contains Arabic text, written from right to left in a cursive style with some letters joined. Without proper rendering support, you may see unjoined Arabic letters written left-to-right instead of right-to-left or other symbols instead of Arabic script.

Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud "Sultan Al-Khair" (Arabic: سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود‎) was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

Early life and education[link]

Sultan was born in Riyadh. He was the 12th son of King Abdulaziz^[1] and his mother was Hassa Al Sudairi (1900–1969).

Sultan, along with many of his brothers, received his early education in religion, modern culture, and diplomacy at the royal court.

His career in public service began in 1947 when he was appointed governor of Riyadh, whose main task is resolving the disputes among the 7.000 members of royal family.^[2]

In 1947, he oversaw ARAMCO's construction of the Kingdom's rail link between Dammam and Riyadh.

Sultan was appointed as the kingdom’s first Minister of Agriculture in 1953 and Minister of Transport in 1955.^[2]

Although his direct military experience was brief, heading the Royal Guard in Riyadh in the early 1950s, he felt a lifelong connection to the military and the cause of Saudi independence from an early age.^[3] Major General Carl Von Horn, Swedish commander of the UN observer mission during the Yemeni civil war, described the Prince as "a volatile and emotional young man" in the early days.^[3]

Minister of Defense and Aviation[link]

In 1962, King Faisal appointed Prince Sultan as Minister of Defense and Aviation. He presided over the development of the Saudi armed forces.

Sultan purchased U.S. tanks, fighter planes, missiles and AWACS (airborne warning and control systems). However, as a result of problems assimilating technology within its armed forces, a relatively high proportion of the military equipment is stored or under maintenance, despite a large portion of Saudi's $34 billion defense budget being spent on maintaining military equipment. Sultan allegedly became extraordinarily wealthy from kickbacks by Western businesses that handled multibillion-dollar defense contracts.^[4] He was involved in many scandals, including the Al Yamamah deal.^[5] However, his influence remained unhindered until his health began to deteriorate.^[5] During his tenure, Saudi Arabia became the largest importer of U.S. arms. He was a strong proponent of U.S.-Saudi partnership.^[6]

As well, Sultan authorized a deal with the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1965. His program, called Operation Magic Carpet, traded £16 million for six second-hand Lightnings^{[disambiguation needed ]}, six Hawker Hunters, and a set of missile launchers going to Royal Saudi Air Force. Geoffrey Edwards^{[disambiguation needed ]} served as the official intermediary. British pilots also came over, privately contracted.^[3]

Prince Sultan was an expert on the Yemen civil war and Soviet involvement in the Horn of Africa in 1985.^[7]

In 1996, Prince Sultan opposed Pentagon plans to relocate U.S. troops to safer locations after the Dhahran complex bombings.^[8]

Second Deputy Prime Minister[link]

In 1982, King Fahd appointed Prince Sultan as Second Deputy Prime Minister.

Opposition to his appointment as second deputy prime minister came in particular from two other half brothers, Musaid and Bandar, both of whom, like Abdullah, were born in 1923 and therefore, were older than Prince Sultan, who was born in 1924. The protestations of Prince Musaid could be ignored because it was his son who had assassinated King Faisal. But the interests of Bandar bin Abdulaziz were more difficult to disregard. However, he was compensated and the dispute was eliminated.^[9]

Crown Prince[link]

Styles of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
Reference style	His Royal Highness[10]
Spoken style	Your Royal Highness

On 1 August 2005, Sultan bin Abdulaziz was designated heir apparent despite having a discord with King Abdullah.^[11]

Various positions[link]

Prince Sultan was Saudi Arabia's Inspector General. He was Chairman of the Board of Saudi Arabia's national airline, Saudi Arabian Airlines. As Chairman, he approved a ban on smoking inside all Saudi airports.^[12] In 1986, he founded the Saudi National Commission for Wildlife Conservation.^[13]

Scientific prizes sponsored by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz[link]

• Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz prize for water. He was the founder and patron of the Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz International Prize for Water, a bi-annual international scientific award for water research.^[14]
• Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Chair for environmental engineering, department of civil engineering, King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals. It is the first chair in the university.
• The scientific agreement between Prince Sultan bin Abdullaziz and Oxford University for academic and cultural co-operation, which enables Saudi students for bachelor, master and PHD degrees in the field of human sciences.^[15]

Charity works[link]

A non-profit charity organization, Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud Foundation, was set up and funded by Prince Sultan in 1995 for social objectives. The foundation includes the following centers in different countries:

• • Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City^[16]
  • Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Science and Technology Center
  • Charity housing projects
  • Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Special Education Program at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain
  • Prince Sultan Center for Speech and Hearing in Bahrain
  • King Abdulaziz Center for Islamic Studies at Bologna University
  • Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Arab and Islamic Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley

• Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Private: Committee for Relief.

This private committee organizes relief and medical convoys and sets up camps to combat diseases like Malaria and blindness. It has carried out several developmental, social and medical projects, like, digging wells, building schools, public libraries, mosques, hospitals, establishing dialysis centers. It also sponsors Muslim preachers in Ethiopia, Chad, Niger, Malawi, Mali, Comoro Islands, Djibouti and Indonesia.^[17]

Controversy[link]

Donations[link]

In April 2005, Sultan donated £2 million to the Ashmolean Museum. This is regarded as one of the most controversial donations Oxford University received. A year after his donations to establish an art museum, Oxford University agreed to ‘expedite’ the scholarship application process for Saudi students, and identify colleges for ten Saudi students from Prince Sultan University (PSU). When this arrangement became public, it led to criticism from both academics and students stating that it was no academic worth to the university, bypassing Oxford’s governing council, and breaching the admissions process for prospective students.^[18]

A press release issued by Oxford University on 20 April 2005, said that:

HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud has given the Ashmolean Museum a substantial donation to provide a fitting home for the Museum’s internationally renowned collection of Islamic art. The total value of the gift is £2 million, which will also provide for ten scholarships at the University of Oxford for Saudi Arabian students.

The press release added further that ‘the new gallery, part of the ambitious redevelopment of one of the world’s oldest museums, will be named the “Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud Gallery”’. Arab News on 21 April 2005, reported that Sultan’s donation was a ‘move to promote understanding between Islam and the West’, adding that ‘Saudi and British officials’ had said that the new gallery ‘will help to portray Islamic culture and civilization in right perspectives.’^[18]

Personal life[link]

Prince Sultan has thirty-two children by his multiple wives. His eldest son Khalid, after Sultan's death, was assigned as the Deputy Minister of Defence.^[3] His other son Bandar is secretary-general of the National Security Council since 2005. Fahd, another son of him, is Governor of Tabuk Province. Salman (born 1976), another son of him, is assistant secretary-general of the National Security Council.^[19] Faisal, his fourth eldest son, is the Secretary General of Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud Foundation.^[20]

His other sons are Faisal, Turki, Nayef, Badr, Mohammed, Saud, Ahmad, Nawwaf, Abdullah, Mishaal, Mansour, Fawwaz, Abdulmajid and Abdul Ilah.

One of his daughters, Reema, is married to Muhammad bin Nayef, son of the Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz.^[21] His other daughter is married to Turki bin Nasser. One of his daughters, Munira who was late Faisal bin Fahd's spouse died in June 2011.^[22]

Wives[link]

This article may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding references. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. More details may be available on the talk page. (October 2011)

• Monera bint Abdul Aziz bin Mousad al Saud (deceased), mother of Khalid, Fahd, Faisal and Turki
• Huda bint Abdullah al Shaikh, mother of Saud, Nayef, Nawwaf, Badr
• Areej bint Salem al Maree
• Jowaher bint Mohammed bin Saud bin Nasser al Farhan al Saud (divorced)
• Mouda bint Saud al Kabeer al Saud (divorced)
• Mounira bint Machaal bin Saud al Rashid (deceased)
• Leila bint Thanian al Saud (divorced)
• Mouda bint Salman al Mandeel al Khaldi (divorced)
• Ghadir bint Shawaan al Shibani (divorced)
• Maha bint Abdullah al Binyan (divorced)
• Abir bint Fahd al Faisal al Farhan al Saud, mother of Fawaz (divorced)

Characteristics[link]

He was regarded as a workaholic with a reputation as "the epitomy of corruption". His lavish spending is legendary: he doles out money at banquets in keeping with tribal custom. A conservative expected to put a brake on Abdullah's timid reforms assuming he becomes king. He was considered to be a pro-American whose son, Prince Bandar, is a former US envoy.^[23]

Wealth[link]

Prince Sultan’s fortune is estimated at $270 billion, which he distributed between his sons prior to his death in October 2011 in order to shore up their political position in the competitive princely arena.^[24][25]

Health issues[link]

Sultan had been rumored to have had colon cancer in 2003. A foreign correspondent was forced to leave the country after reporting his health problems.^[26]

In 2004, Sultan was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent several corrective surgeries. He underwent an operation to remove an intestinal polyp.^[27] In April 2009, he started to suffer from Alzheimer's disease.^[28][29]

A leaked March 2009 diplomatic cable from WikiLeaks stated that U.S. diplomats viewed Prince Sultan as "for all intents and purposes incapacitated".^[30] He was possibly suffering dementia, specifically Alzheimer's disease.^[31]

He spent several months in New York City at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital and underwent surgery. He then convalesced at Agadir, Morocco, and remained abroad most of the time, undergoing medical treatments.^[32]

Morocco vacation[link]

In February 2009, Sultan underwent surgery in New York. He then convalesced at Agadir, Morocco. He went back to Saudi Arabia, but soon returned to Morocco in August 2009. During his vacation, the Saudi cabinet increased officer salaries, a traditional domain of Sultan.^[33]

In 2009, King Abdullah took charge of all defense purchases and reduced the power of the Defense Ministry. In October 2010, Abdullah personally conducted much of the negotiations for the U.S. arms package worth over $60 billion.^[34]

In November 2010, Sultan received Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri to discuss the future of Lebanon's government.^[35] He had been receiving treatment since 2009 for what analysts and diplomats believed to be cancer.^[36] At the end of November 2010, he returned to Saudi Arabia because King Abdullah left for the United States for surgery. His return was seen as a legal formality necessary under Saudi law, which stipulates that only one of the kingdom's top two officials can be abroad at a given time.^[37]

Death[link]

According to a statement made by the Saudi Royal court on Saturday, 22 October 2011, Sultan died at dawn of an unspecified illness. According to media reports, Sultan had been battling cancer and had been seeking medical treatment in the United States since June 2011.^[38][39] According to unnamed U.S. officials cited by the The New York Times, he died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan.^[40]

His funeral was held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque in Riyadh on 26 October 2011, in the presence of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.^[38]

Views[link]

Sultan took a lifetime anti-communist and anti-Soviet view, based on his dislike of Soviet state atheism as well as Soviet interest in Gulf oil and access to ports that he felt risked Saudi independence. He rebuked U.S. President Jimmy Carter for what he saw as "pusillanimity" in the face of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.^[3]

In a 23 October 2001 interview in Kuwaiti newspaper As Seyassa, concerning 9/11 attacks, Sultan stated “Who stands behind this terrorism and who carried out this complicated and carefully planned terrorist operation? Osama bin Laden and those with him have said what indicates that they stand behind this carefully planned act. We, in turn, ask: Are bin Laden and his supporters the only ones behind what happened or is there another power with advanced technical expertise that acted with them?”.^[41]

References[link]