Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 13 February 1913 – 13 June 1982 was King of Saudi Arabia from 1975 to 1982. His reign saw both huge developments in the country due to increase in oil revenues and significant events in the Middle East.
Early life
Khalid was born in Riyadh on 13 February 1913. He was the fifth son of King Abdulaziz. His mother, Al Jawhara bint Musaed Al Jiluwi, was from the important Al Jiluwi clan whose members intermarried with Al Sauds. Khalid had one full-brother, Prince Muhammad. His full sister, Al Anoud, married to the sons of Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman. She first married Saud bin Saad. After Saud died, she married Fahd bin Saad. Aged 14, Khalid bin Abdulaziz was sent by King Abdulaziz as his representative to the desert tribes to hear their concerns and problems.[5] In 1932, Prince Khalid was named as viceroy of the Hejaz, replacing Prince Faisal in the post, who was named minister of foreign affairs. Prince Khalid's term as viceroy of Hejaz lasted until 1934.[13] Prince Khalid joined the Saudi army led by his older brother Prince Faisal and fought against Yemeni forces in 1934.[5] After the war, Prince Khalid served as the chairman of the Saudi delegation at the Taif Conference with Yemen in 1934.[14] This was a diplomatic move that led to the Taif Treaty later that year.[14] Then he was named interior minister in 1934[13] and was the Saudi representative at the peace negotiations. In 1939, he participated in the St. James Conference on Palestine in London as an assistant to Prince Faisal, head of the Saudi delegation.[5][14][15] Prince Khalid's preparation for ruling a modern state started through his visits with Prince Faisal on foreign missions, representing Saudi Arabia at the United Nations.[9] Prince Khalid served as advisor of him.[14] Prince Khalid became an international figure as a result of his visits and service as Saudi representative.[14] He was more liberal in informing the press about the rationale behind foreign policy decisions.[9] In September 1943, Prince Faisal and Prince Khalid were invited to the United States, and then-Vice President Harry Truman organized a dinner for them at the White House.[16] They also met the US President Franklin Roosevelt.[17][18] They stayed at the official government guest house, Blair House, during their visit and visited the West Coast by a special train that was officially provided by the US government.[16] A foreign diplomat described Prince Khalid during this period as "probably nicest man in Saudi Arabia."[19] In 1962, Prince Khalid was appointed deputy prime minister, indicating his prominence in the line of succession.[20][21] During the rivalry between King Saud and Prince Faisal, Prince Khalid supported the latter together with other princes who were members of Al Jiluwi branch of Al Saud through maternal lineage or marriage.[22] The group was led by Prince Mohammed, Prince Khalid and Prince Abdullah, who had married a woman from Al Jiluwi clan.[22] Crown prince[edit] Khalid bin Abdulaziz was named Crown Prince in 1965 to succeed King Faisal[23] after Khalid's older full-brother Prince Muhammad declined a place in the succession.[24][25] Prince Khalid was also appointed first deputy premier.[14][26] His main task was to govern all organisational and executive powers of the Council of Ministers. He also dealt with the affairs of the Governorate of Mecca on behalf of King Faisal.[14] Crown Prince Khalid was not active in daily issues, but acted as a representative during King Faisal's absences in meetings or ceremonies.[20] According to the declassified US diplomatic documents of 1971, he enjoyed the support of the tribal chiefs, religious authorities and of Prince Abdullah, head of the National Guard, during this period.[27] One of the speculations about Prince Khalid's selection as heir designate was his lack of predilection for politics. In short, by selecting him as heir designate the royal family could create intra-familial consensus.