Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud

Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud (18 June 1923 – 8 May 2007) was a Saudi businessman and a senior member of the House of Saud. He held several cabinet posts in the government of Saudi Arabia in the 1950s and was the first minister of interior in Saudi Arabian history.

Not to be confused with Abdullah bin Faisal.
Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud
Governor of Hejaz
In office1946– 1949
PredecessorPrince Mansour bin Abdulaziz
MonarchKing Abdulaziz
Minister of Interior
In office1951– April 1959
PredecessorOffice established
SuccessorCrown Prince Faisal
MonarchKing Abdulaziz
King Saud
Born18 June 1923
Riyadh, Kingdom of Nejd
Died8 May 2007(2007-05-08) (aged 83)
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Burial
Al Adl cemetery, Mecca
SpouseAl Jawhara bint Khalid bin Mohammed
Full name
Abdullah bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
HouseHouse of Saud
FatherKing Faisal
MotherSultana bint Ahmed Al Sudairi

Early life and education

Prince Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1923.[1][2] However, some sources list his birth year as 1921[3] or 1922. He was the eldest son of King Faisal.[4][5] His mother was Sultana Al Sudairi, daughter of Ahmed bin Muhammad Al Sudairi.[6] Abdullah bin Faisal's mother and the mother of the Sudairi Seven, Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, were sisters.[7]

It is believed that Prince Abdullah was the second grandson of King Abdulaziz after Faisal bin Turki I, who was born in 1918.[4][8] The marriage of Prince Faisal and Sultana bint Ahmed was prearranged while Prince Faisal was travelling abroad. They never saw each other until the marriage. They later divorced.[8]

Abdullah bin Faisal completed his education in Mecca in 1939.[4] He was older than the majority of King Abdulaziz's children i.e. his uncles and aunts.[6]

Career

Abdullah bin Faisal assumed a number of government positions. He started his political career in 1945 when he disputed his half-uncle Mansour's appointment as acting viceroy of Hijaz and actually assumed the office one year later.[6]

He was the first minister of health of Saudi Arabia and appointed to the post in 1950.[9] Then, he was named minister of interior in 1951, being the first interior minister of the Kingdom.[4][10] He served in this post during the reign of King Abdulaziz and also, of King Saud.[11] His appointment as minister of health and of interior was a move to make him equal in status to then-minister of defense Prince Mishaal.[12] His term lasted until April 1959 when he resigned,[13] and he was replaced by his father, Crown Prince Faisal, in the post of interior minister.[14]

Following his retirement from government jobs Abdullah bin Faisal devoted his time to business and cultural activities. First he dealt with real estate business in Jeddah.[15] He was the founder of Al Faisaliah Group, which was established in Jeddah in 1970.[16][17] He also founded the SIGMA (Saudi Investment Group and Marketing) company in 1979. The chairman and CEO of the company was his son, Prince Saud, who died in June 2020.[18]

Prince Abdullah's business partners included the sons of Rashad Pharaon, Ghaith and Mazen.[19]

Other positions

Abdullah bin Faisal was cofounder and former chairman of Al Ahli football club.[13][20] He was the chairman of King Faisal Foundation.[21]

Works and awards

A composer of both classical and colloquial poetry, his works include the collection The Inspiration of Deprivation (Min Wahye al Hirman), 1980.

Prince Abdullah's poems were put into music and sung by the Egyptian singer Umm Khalthoum and many others.[5][22] Some of them were translated into English, French and Russian.[20]

Abdullah bin Faisal received a number of international honors including an honorary doctorate degree in humanities.[13] He was rewarded with French State Acknowledgement Award for Literature in 1984.[23] In May 1989 he was given honorary doctorate degree, doctorate of humane letters, from Shaw University.[24]

Personal life

One of Prince Abdullah's spouses was Al Jawhara bint Khalid bin Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman who died at age 87 in 2005.[25]

Prince Abdullah had ten children:[20][26]

Death

Prince Abdullah died on 8 May 2007.[32][33] Funeral prayers were performed at the Masjid al Haram in Mecca and attended by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, his younger brothers Prince Saud and Prince Khaled as well as other members of the royal family.[32] Prince Abdullah was buried in the Al Adl cemetery in Mecca[34] next to his first wife Al Jawhara bint Khalid bin Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman.[20]

Legacy

In November 2018 the International Prize Prince Abdullah Al Faisal for Arabic Poetry was launched.[35]

Ancestry

References
  1. Winberg Chai (2005). Saudi Arabia: A Modern Reader. University Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-88093-859-4.
  2. "Abdullah Al Faisal". Rulers. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  3. J. E. Peterson (2003). Historical Dictionary of Saudi Arabia (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 16.
  4. Sabri Sharif (2001). The House of Saud in Commerce: A Study of Royal Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: I. S. Publication. ISBN 81-901254-0-0.
  5. Nick Luddington (5 April 1975). "King Faisal's eight sons". Lewiston Evening Journal. Jeddah. Associated Press.
  6. Joseph A. Kechichian (2001). Succession in Saudi Arabia. New York: Palgrave. ISBN 9780312238803.
  7. Sharaf Sabri (2001). The House of Saud in Commerce: A Study of Royal Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Sharaf Sabri. p. 48. ISBN 978-81-901254-0-6.
  8. "Sultana bint Ahmad bin Muhammad Al Sudairi". Datarabia. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  9. Zuber Mujeeb Shaikh (June 2018). "A comparative study on the Economic Indicators of Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". Research Review. 3 (6).
  10. "Advisers, heirs and heir apparent". Life. Time: 72. 1953. ISSN 0024-3019.
  11. "House of Saud". Life. Time: 66. 1953. ISSN 0024-3019.
  12. Steffen Hertog (2007). "Shaping the Saudi State: Human agency's shifting role in rentier-state formation" (PDF). International Journal of Middle East Studies. 39 (4): 539–563. doi:10.1017/S0020743807071073.
  13. Mahmoud Ahmad (9 May 2007). "Abdullah Al Faisal Passes Away". Arab News. Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  14. Steffen Hertog (2010). "The Emerging Bureaucratic Order under Faisal". Princes, Brokers, and Bureaucrats: Oil and the State in Saudi Arabia (PDF). Cornell University Press. p. 62. ISBN 9780801447815. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt7zbkq.10.
  15. Vincent Sheean (1 January 1966). "King Faisal's First Year". Foreign Affairs. 44 (2): 304–313. doi:10.2307/20039166. JSTOR 20039166.
  16. "Past". Al Faisaliah Group. Archived from the original on 25 March 2011. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  17. Anthony Shoult (2006). Doing Business with Saudi Arabia. GMB Publishing Ltd. p. 481. ISBN 978-1-905050-67-3.
  18. "About us". SIGMA Company. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  19. Sharaf Sabri (2001). The House of Saud in Commerce: A Study of Royal Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Sharaf Sabri. p. 50. ISBN 978-81-901254-0-6.
  20. "في وفاة الأمير الشاعر". Elaph (in Arabic). 10 May 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  21. The Monthly Newsletter of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Information Office, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. 1989. p. 39.
  22. "أمراء، ولكن شعراء.. "الكلمة السّعودية" في الأغنية المصرية والعربية". Raseef 22 (in Arabic). 22 February 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  23. Saleh Oawid Alharbi (2015). "The Image of the West in Saudi poetry 1920-1990" (PhD Thesis). University of Exeter. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  24. The Monthly Newsletter of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Information Office, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. 1989. p. 7.
  25. "وفاة الأميرة الجوهرة بنت خالد آل سعود". Al Sharq Al Awsat (in Arabic). 16 November 2005. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  26. "Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Faisal's burial ceremony (video)". Saudi 24 News. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  27. Sharaf Sabri (2001). The House of Saud in Commerce: A Study of Royal Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Sharaf Sabri. p. 52. ISBN 978-81-901254-0-6.
  28. "Expo spotlight on stunning designs by Princess Nourah". Gulf Daily News. Manama. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  29. "زي النهاردة.. وفاة الأمير محمد عبد الله الفيصل 21 أغسطس 2011". Al Masry Al Youm. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  30. "حفيد الملك المؤسس سفيراً لخادم الحرمين بالأردن الأمير خالد بن فيصل آل سعود يستعد لاستلام مهام عمله الجديد المزيد على دنيا الوطن". Al Watan. 21 October 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  31. "Saudi prince dies of Coronavirus". Iran Press. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
  32. "Saudi royal family mourns another senior prince". The Daily Star. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  33. الأمير عبدالله الفيصل بن عبدالعزيز أل سعود. Royal KSA (in Arabic). Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  34. "Prince Muhammad Al Faisal dead". Saudi Gazette. Jeddah. 22 August 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2013.
  35. "Today, the newspaper launches the International Prize Prince Abdullah Al Faisal for Arabic Poetry". Praams. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
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