Saud of Saudi Arabia
Encyclopedia
Saud bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud (January 12, 1902 – February 23, 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...

 from 1953 to 1964. He was removed from power by Faisal
Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1975. As king, he is credited with rescuing the country's finances and implementing a policy of modernization and reform, while his main foreign policy themes were pan-Islamic Nationalism, anti-Communism, and pro-Palestinian...

 because of Saud's mismanagement and waste. He was the eldest surviving son of Ibn Saud and became Crown Prince in 1933. He died in exile in Greece.
Major events
>1956 Saudi Arabia stopped exporting oil to Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 due to the Suez Crisis
Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, also referred to as the Tripartite Aggression, Suez War was an offensive war fought by France, the United Kingdom, and Israel against Egypt beginning on 29 October 1956. Less than a day after Israel invaded Egypt, Britain and France issued a joint ultimatum to Egypt and Israel,...

.
>1957 State visit to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 at invitation of President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

.
>1957 Saudi Arabia became a member at the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...

.
>1961 A royal decree was made to establish the Institute of Public Administration.
>1961 Saud became sick and traveled to America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 for treatment.
>1962 Saud established Saudi Television.
>1963 Saudi Arabia withdrew its troops from Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

, after the end of the Iraqi-Kuwaiti conflict.

Early life

Saud was born in 1902 in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...

. He was born in the home of Amir Abdul Rahman bin Faisal. They were in district Sakkat Anaza where the family of the was staying after their exile from Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...

. After his father Abdulaziz conquered Riyadh in 1902, Saud followed him with his mother and brothers. His mother was Princess Wadhha bint Muhammad bin Burghush Al Uray'ir of the Bani Khalid tribe.

When he was five years old, his father took him to Sheikh Abdul Rahman Mufaireej. He was taught sharia and the Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...

. He also learned archery and horse-riding. He also had smallpox, but Abdul-Aziz made Saud attend the meetings that he held in order to learn and develop political skills. Moreover, Saud was very close to his father, so much that when he died Saud said "I lost my father…and my friend". http://www.kingsaud.net/inside/brown/index4.html.

When he was thirteen years old, Saud's first political mission involved leading a delegation to Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

. He led the first war against Hail
Hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...

 in 1921, and became the leader of the Saudi troops fighting in Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

. In addition, Saud participated in eight wars before he came to the throne: Grab War, Yabet War, Truba, Alkuras, Hail, Alhijaz, Almahmal and the Brethren http://www.kingsaud.net/inside/red/index4.html.

Before becoming king, Saud and his half-brother Faisal were the caretakers of the country because of Abdul-Aziz's ailing condition. On May 11, 1933, he was made Crown Prince.

Reign

When Ibn Saud died in 1953, Saud became king.
He had cordial relations with Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 at the beginning of his reign. He felt challenged by the Hashemite
Hashemite
Hashemite is the Latinate version of the , transliteration: Hāšimī, and traditionally refers to those belonging to the Banu Hashim, or "clan of Hashim", a clan within the larger Quraish tribe...

 kingdoms of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 and Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

. Saud became weary of Egyptian influence in the Arab world. This led to numerous diplomatic blunders, such as a supposed plot to assassinate Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...

. Egypt and Saudi engaged in a regional cold war. During the Yemeni Civil War, Saud supported the royalist
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of government, but not necessarily a particular monarch...

 and Egypt supported republican
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...

 forces.

He was responsible for the establishment of numerous governmental ministries. In 1957, he founded King Saud University
King Saud University
King Saud University is a public university located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdul Aziz as Riyadh University, as the first university in the kingdom not dedicated to religious subjects. The university was created to meet the shortage of skilled workers in...

 in Riyadh. He had 53 sons and 56 daughters http://www.kingsaud.net/inside/violet/bint.html and was keen to give his own sons power, and placed them in high governmental positions. This annoyed his half-brothers, who thought that Saud's sons were too inexperienced, and began to fear that Saud would select his own son to succeed him. He was also known for his lavish spending squandering state funds for his own family, and on palaces, all at a time when Saudi Arabia was still struggling economically.

Between 1953 and 1964, the appointment of eight ministers were partly to contain the fermenting demands for political participation among members of the royal lineage. By 1957, Saud placed his son Fahd as Minister of Defense, his son Musaid to lead the Royal Guard
Royal Guard
A Royal Guard describes any group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as Emperor/Empress, King/Queen, or Prince/Princess...

, his son Khalid to lead the National Guard
Saudi Arabian National Guard
The Saudi Arabian National Guard is a separate military force of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is not part of the Saudi Arabian Defence Forces, due to its specific role as a counterbalance to the regular military. It serves both as defence force against external threats and as a security force...

. and his son Saad in the Special Guard.

Struggle with Faisal

A fierce struggle between Ibn Saud's most senior sons, Saud and Faisal, erupted immediately after the death of King Abdulaziz. The increase in oil revenues did not solve the financial problem associated with the debts Saud had inherited from his father, estimated to have been $200 million in 1953. In fact, this debt more than doubled by 1958, when it reached $450 million. The Saudi riyal lost half of its official value against the dollar. Both ARAMCO and international banks declined Saudi's demand for credit. Saud suspended the few government projects he had initiated, but continued his spending on luxurious palaces

Saud and Faisal fought an internal battle over the definition of political responsibilities and the division of government functions. Saud is often associated among other things with plundering of oil revenues, luxurious palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...

s, conspiracy inside and outside Saudi Arabia, and vice. Faisal is associated with sobriety, piety, puritanism, financial wisdom, and modernization. Moreover, the conflict between the two brothers is often described as originating from the desire of Faisal to curb his brother's spending and solve Saudi Arabia's financial crisis.

The battle between the two brothers was fought over the role to be assigned to the Council of Ministers. Saud abolished the office of prime minister by royal decree, thus enforcing his position as King and de facto prime minister. Saud thought of himself as both King and prime minister whereas Faisal envisaged more powers in his own hand as Crown Prince and deputy prime minister

Removal from Throne

King Saud's family members worried about Saud's profligacy and his inability to meet Nasser's socialist challenge. Corruption and backwardness were weakening the regime. Radio Cairo's anti-Saudi propaganda was finding a receptive audience.

Saud and Faisal continued their power struggle until 1962, when Faisal formed a cabinet in the absence of the King, who had gone abroad for medical treatment. Faisal allied with Fahd
Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, was King of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005...

 and Sultan. Faisal's new government excluded the sons of Saud. He promised a ten-point reform that included the drafting of a basic law, the abolishing of slavery and the establishment of a judicial council.

Saud rejected Faisal's new arrangement and threatened to mobilize the Royal Guard against his brother. Faisal ordered the mobilization of the National Guard against Saud. With the arbitration of the ulema
Ulema
Ulama , also spelt ulema, refers to the educated class of Muslim legal scholars engaged in the several fields of Islamic studies. They are best known as the arbiters of shari‘a law...

, and pressure from senior members of the royal family, Saud gave in and agreed to abdicate on March 28, 1964.

Saud was forced into exile and he moved to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...

, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, and then on to other Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an cities. In 1966, Saud was invited to live in Egypt by Colonel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...

. After his abdication, he was generally not mentioned in Saudi Arabia, with numerous institutions bearing his name being renamed. His reign was only referenced in passing in official history books. Likewise, his sons remained largely marginalized from positions of power though two were named governors to minor provinces during the reign of King Fahd.

Death

Two days before his death, he had felt ill and asked his doctor Filnger from Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 to examine him. In the morning, Saud took a short walk on a beach with his daughter Nozhah, near Hotel Kavouri where he used to reside. His physician arrived after he had died in Athens, Greece, on February 23, 1969, after suffering a heart attack in his sleep. His body was taken to Makkah then to Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...

 where he was buried in Alaoud cemetery.

External links

  • http://www.kingsaud.net in Arabic


The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK