Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969 was King of Saudi Arabia from 1953 to 1964. After a period of internal tension in Saudi Arabia, he was forced from the throne and replaced by his brother Faisal of Saudi Arabia.
Early life
Prince Saud was born on 15 January 1902 in Kuwait City.[2][3][4] The second son of Ibn Saud (also known as Abdulaziz),[5] he was born in the home of his grandfather Amir Abdul Rahman. They lived in Sikkat Inazza[where?] where the family was staying after their exile from Riyadh. When his father conquered Riyadh in 1902, Saud followed him with his mother and brothers. Prince Saud had one full brother, Turki I.[6] and a sister, Mounira.[7] Their mother was King Abdulaziz's second wife Wadhah bint Muhammad bin 'Hussein Al-Orair,[6] who belonged to the Qahtan tribe.[8][9] At the age of five years old, he studied under Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Mufaireej. He learned Sharia and Quran. He also learned archery and horse-riding amongst other things under the supervision of his father, also tribal lineages, and how to conduct peace agreements, and the art of wars, politics, diplomacy and administration in the traditional Arabian ways. He accompanied his father on his many expeditions and, participated in several campaigns during the unification of the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, his father would entrust him from time to time with war related or political, administrative and diplomatic missions, where he proved himself in measuring up to his father's aspirations and even at times in surprising him by the outcome of his endeavors. His personal courage undoubtedly contributed to the achievement of these skills, besides his humble personality and sense of humor, accompanied by great sincerity, kindness, legendary generosity and a regard for others. These qualities rendered him admiration from his friends and enemies alike, and often enabled him to win over bitter enemies and convert foes into friends. When King' Abdul 'Aziz appointed him as an heir to his throne in (1933), his famous advice to his son was that, he should always be devoted to the service of the cause of the Almighty, and aspire towards raising aloft the voice of Islam and strive hard to look after the concerns and affairs of his subjects, and be truthful in word and deed. He also advised him to incline towards and respect of Muslim scholars and keep their company and listen to their advice. The young (Ameer) Saud had then pledged to his father that he would loyally abide by his words.[10] Saud's first political mission was at the age of thirteen, he led a delegation to Qatar. The 1st battle he fought was at (Jirrab) on 1915, followed b Yatab [11] battle in the same year, then Trubah battle in 1919. In 1925 he stopped the Almahmal crisis in Makkah. In 1929 he fought to stop the Ikhwan Revolt at Al Sebella.[12] On 11 May 1933, he was appointed Crown Prince by his father.[13] In 1934, King Abdulaziz sent two military expeditions; one of them was led by Crown Prince Saud who regained Najran and advanced secretly through the rugged mountains in the north west part of Yemen.[14] Following the end of the war with Yemen, King Abdulaziz decided to encourage Saud to travel abroad. Accompanied by his father’s adviser, Fuad Hamzah and Physician Dr. Medhat Sheikh el-Ard and some others, he visited: Transjordan, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt and Europe where he represented his father at the Coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937. Due to his modesty and amiable and sincere personality, Crown Prince Saud managed to prove a success throughout his visits, striking a warm friendship with the young King Ghazi of Iraq I, and earning plaudits from the likes of the “Amir” and later on “King”, ‘Abdullah I of Jordan & Transjordan, who said to him: "in his character, he represented the choicest and purest of the traits and attributes of the Arabian Peninsula". When a crisis erupted between the neighbouring Persian Gulf States of Bahrain and Qatar, Saud also visited the former during December 1937 in order to help sort out their differences. This was followed by other visits to the until the eve of the Second World War. After the war, when the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine appeared to be imminent, and leaders of the various Arab States met at Inshas in Egypt during 1946 in order to review the situation under the Chairmanship of King Farouk of Egypt, Saud was again selected by his father to represent him and his country, and participated in the adoption of the famous resolution that declared that: "The Palestinian cause is the cause of all Arabs and not merely the Palestinians". In 1947, Saud visited the United States and met with President Harry S. Truman, and also met with leaders in Britain, France, and Italy, in order to acquaint the policy makers with his father’s views and the unacceptability of the infringement of the rights of the Palestinians. Following Amir Saud’s visits, he concentrated on the first areas to be deemed in sore need of modernisation and reform in view of increasing revenues and expenditures, was the body governing and handling the country’s finances. After seeking advice and expert help from a number of friendly countries, primarily the USA, the Saudi riyal was linked to the United States Dollar and apart from structural, regulatory and procedural reforms within a revamped Ministry of Finance; a Central Bank under the name of the “Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency” (“SAMA”) was established during 1952. In keeping with universal practice, a proper annual state budget had first been issued during 1948 and following the establishment of the above central banking body, “SAMA”, the third Saudi National Budget for the year 1952 complied with internationally observed standards. During this period, technical co-operation, primarily with the, in the guise of the arrival of 35 experts during 1952 and aimed at generating planned economic growth within the Kingdom also received a major boost. Apart from financial and administrative reforms, the report presented to King Abdulaziz by Amir Saud, had commended the implementation of a whole range of vital infrastructural projects relating to the improvement of facilities for the Pilgrims, so important to the Kingdom from a religious and economic point of view, water supply, roads, broadcasting service, health, municipal affairs, port improvements, customs reorganization and higher education. Plans for the paved road between Jeddah and Makkah had been announced by Saud during the Hajj of 1947, and the project for bringing water from the nearby Wadi Fatimah to Jeddah was also inaugurated by him shortly during November 1947. The Hajj of 1369 AH / 1950 AD witnessed the establishment of the Makkah college that was later to be expanded and renamed Umm al-Qura University. Many of these reforms, along with the complete reorganisation of the system of public administration, through the establishment or restructuring of new or existing ministries and departments, and conceived and recognised as the “Crown Prince’s Reforms”, issued from his Office by a Decree under his seal on 19 October 1952, were destined to be developed, built upon and some even implemented after the demise of King Abdulaziz on 9 November 1953 and during Saud’s reign as King. The traditional Consultative Council in Makkah, the "Majlis-ash-Shura" or Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia was expanded on 17 November 1952. Earlier, on 19 October 1953, King Abdulaziz had also appointed Crown Prince Saud as a Prime Minister for the first Saudi Cabinet. Before that, he appointed him as a Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Internal Security Units on 25 August 1953. During this period, the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, including the Air Force, were modernised on a large scale with American assistance. The Saudi Arabian Airlines fleet was also expanded by the purchase of four new ‘Sky Masters” to primarily facilitate the transport of Pilgrims from their homes to the and back, and also within the Kingdom. On 10 June 1953, Saud with the approval of his father also laid the foundation stone for the expansion and refurbishment of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. Earlier on, following a visit, he had recommended to King Abdulaziz the need for the adoption of this step, which the latter had sanctioned.