Sultan bin Abdulaziz


Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, called The generous Sultan in Saudi Arabia, was the Saudi defense minister from 1963 to 2011 and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 2005 until his death in October 2011.

Early life and education

Sultan was born in Riyadh sometime between the mid to late 1920s to early 1930s, with the year being given as 1925, 1928, 1930, and 1931. He was the 15th son of Ibn Saud and his mother was Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi. He was the second of the Sudairi Seven, who also included Fahd, Nayef and Salman. Prince Sultan, along with many of his brothers, received his early education in religion, modern culture, and diplomacy at the royal court.

Early experience

His career in public service began in 1940 when he was made a deputy to Riyadh governor or emir, Prince Nasser. In 1947, Prince Sultan replaced Prince Nasser as governor of Riyadh. Prince Sultan also assisted King Abdulaziz's attempts to establish a national administrative system based on the Islamic Sharia law during this period. In 1947, Prince Sultan oversaw ARAMCO's construction of the Kingdom's rail link between Dammam and Riyadh. It was upon his advice King Abdulaziz ibn Saud ordered the dismantling of Riyadh's city walls in the early 1950s that eventually resulted in the expansion and urbanization of the town into a modern metropolis. He was appointed as the kingdom's first minister of agriculture in 1953 and minister of transport in 1955.
Following the assassination of Lebanese prime minister, Riad Al Solh, in 1951 King Abdulaziz sent Prince Sultan to Beirut to offer condolences to late prime minister's family.
Although the direct military experience of Prince Sultan 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. Major General Carl von Horn, Swedish commander of the UN observer mission during the Yemeni civil war, described the Prince Sultan as "a volatile and emotional young man" in the early days.

Minister of defense and aviation

In 1963, Crown Prince Faisal appointed Prince Sultan as minister of defense and aviation. He presided over the development of the Saudi armed forces. During the reign of King Faisal, Prince Sultan was particularly interested in Yemen.
At the beginning of King Faisal's reign in 1964 Prince Sultan became a member of the council which had been established by the king to guide the succession issues. In the late 1966 Prince Sultan survived an assassination attempt by the revolutionary Yemenites who were assisted by Egyptian intelligence. His influence declined under the reign of King Khalid due to the fact that in 1977 Prince Sultan unsuccessfully tried to prevent Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz from becoming heir apparent when the king died.
Sultan purchased U.S. tanks, fighter planes, missiles, and AWACS. 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. He was involved in many scandals, including the Al Yamamah deal. However, his influence remained unhindered until his health began to deteriorate. During his tenure, Saudi Arabia became the largest importer of U.S. arms, and he was a strong proponent of the U.S.-Saudi partnership.
As well, Sultan authorized a deal with the British Aircraft Corporation in 1965. His program, called Operation Magic Carpet, traded £16 million for six second-hand Lightnings, six Hawker Hunters, and a set of missile launchers going to Royal Saudi Air Force. Geoffrey Edwards served as the official intermediary. British pilots also came over, privately contracted. Prince Sultan was an expert on the Yemen civil war and Soviet involvement in the Horn of Africa in 1985.
In 1996, Prince Sultan opposed Pentagon plans to relocate U.S. troops to safer locations after the Dhahran complex bombings. He visited Iran in May 1999 - his visit was the first official visit of a Saudi minister since 1979.

Second deputy prime minister

On 13 June 1982, after the death of King Khalid and Crown Prince Fahd became the King, Prince Sultan was appointed second deputy prime minister. Opposition to his appointment as second deputy prime minister came in particular from his elder half-brothers Musaid and Bandar. The objection of Prince Musaid was easily ignored since his son, Faisal bin Musaid, had assassinated King Faisal. However, the interests of Bandar bin Abdulaziz were much harder to ignore. Thus, he was compensated and the dispute was resolved.
Prince Sultan, in December 1995, attempted to seize power through the support of the Ulema when Crown Prince Abdullah was in Oman for a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council. However, his attempted coup failed.
Prince Sultan was one of the members of the Al Saud Family Council established by Crown Prince Abdullah in June 2000 to discuss private issues such as business activities of princes and marriages of princess to individuals who were not members of the House of Saud.

Crown prince

On 1 August 2005, Sultan bin Abdulaziz was designated heir apparent despite having a discord with King Abdullah. During the same period he led the group called Sudairi Seven, being the eldest of the group after King Fahd's demise.

Various positions

During the 1970s Prince Sultan was one of the members of the inner family council which was led by King Khalid and included Sultan's brothers Prince Mohammed, Crown Prince Fahd, Prince Abdullah, and Prince Abdul Muhsin and his uncles Prince Ahmed and Prince Musaid.
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. In 1986, he founded the Saudi National Commission for Wildlife Conservation. He was chairman of the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs, which financially supports Muslim communities around the world.

Scientific prizes sponsored by Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz

  • Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz prize for water. He was the founder and patron of the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, a bi-annual international scientific award for water research created in 2002.
  • 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 Abdulaziz and Oxford University for academic and cultural co-operation, which enables Saudi students for bachelor's, master and PhD degrees in the field of human sciences.

    Charity works

Prince Sultan was known as "Sultan the Good" in Saudi Arabia for his generosity. He played a role in many charitable works, including providing for the poor and people with special needs. He set up and funded the Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation on 21 January 1995, with the aim of providing humanitarian services and medical services to people unable to afford the expenses. With the exception of his private residence and important necessities, he donated his possessions to the foundation.
The foundation includes the following centers in different countries:
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.
He inaugurated and served as the patron of Prince Sultan University in Riyadh. It was named in his honor by the university's parent institution, Al-Riyadh Philanthropic Society, which was founded by the prince's brother, Salman of Saudi Arabia, who would later become king. This is the first private/non-profit university established in the kingdom. In 2007, Prince Sultan was awarded the Medal of Human Honor for his charitable works.
In April 2005, Sultan donated £2 million to the Ashmolean Museum. 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. When this arrangement became public, it led to criticism due to the donations bypassing Oxford's governing council, and breaching the admissions process for prospective students.
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.’