Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Abdullah
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Photograph of King Abdullah at age 83
King Abdullah in 2007
King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
Reign1 August 2005 – 23 January 2015
Bay'ah2 August 2005
PredecessorFahd
SuccessorSalman
Regent of Saudi Arabia
Tenure1 January 1996 – 1 August 2005
MonarchFahd
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
First Deputy Prime Minister
Tenure13 June 1982 – 1 August 2005
Monarch
Fahd
Prime Minister
King Fahd
PredecessorFahd bin Abdulaziz
SuccessorSultan bin Abdulaziz
Second Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
Tenure25 April 1975 – 13 June 1982
Monarch
Prime Minister
King Khalid
PredecessorFahd bin Abdulaziz
SuccessorSultan bin Abdulaziz
Commander of the National Guard
Tenure1963–2010
Monarch
List
PredecessorSaad bin Saud
SuccessorMutaib bin Abdullah
Born(1924-08-01)1 August 1924
Riyadh, Sultanate of Nejd
Died23 January 2015(2015-01-23) (aged 90)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Burial23 January 2015
Spouses
List
Issue
Detail
Names
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman
HouseAl Saud
FatherAbdulaziz of Saudi Arabia
MotherFahda bint Asi Al Shuraim

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: عبد الله بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd, Najdi Arabic pronunciation: [ʢæbˈdɑɫ.ɫɐ ben ˈʢæbdæl ʢæˈziːz ʔæːl sæˈʢuːd]; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia since 13 June 1982. He was the tenth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah was the son of King Abdulaziz and Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim. His mother was a member of the Al Rashid dynasty, historical rivals of the Al Saud dynasty. Abdullah held important political posts throughout most of his adult life. In 1961 he became mayor of Mecca, his first public office.[1] The following year, he was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a post he was still holding when he became king. He also served as deputy defense minister and was named crown prince when his half-brother Fahd took the throne in 1982. After King Fahd suffered a serious stroke in 1995, Abdullah became the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia until ascending the throne a decade later.

During his reign, Abdullah maintained close relations with the United States and the United Kingdom and bought billions of dollars worth of defense equipment from both states.[2] He also gave women the right to vote for municipal councils and to compete in the Olympics.[3] Abdullah maintained the status quo when there were waves of protest in the kingdom during the Arab Spring.[4] According to a 2013 BBC report, Saudi Arabia could obtain nuclear weapons at will from Pakistan during Abdullah's reign due to the close relations between the two countries.[5] Abdullah had a longstanding relationship with Pakistan, and brokered a compromise between General Pervez Musharraf and ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whom he had requested to be exiled to Saudi Arabia for a 10-year exile following Sharif's ouster in the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état.[6][7]

The three crown princes during Abdullah's reign were among the full brothers of King Fahd. Upon becoming king in 2005, Abdullah appointed his half-brother Sultan bin Abdulaziz as crown prince. When Sultan died in 2011, Sultan's full brother Nayef was named heir to the throne, but Nayef himself died the next year. Abdullah then named Salman bin Abdulaziz as crown prince. According to various reports, Abdullah married up to 30 times and had more than 35 children. He was among the wealthiest royals in the world. Upon his death in 2015 at age 90, he was succeeded by his half-brother Salman.

  1. ^ "Who's who: Senior Saudis". BBC. 30 October 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  2. ^ US confirms $60bn Saudi arms deal Al Jazeera 20 October 2010.Archived 9 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Saudi Arabia profile BBC Archived 27 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Saudi Arabia: Fundamental change? Al Jazeera 19 October 2010 Archived 29 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Mark Urban. (6 November 2013).Saudi nuclear weapons 'on order' from Pakistan BBC Archived 11 January 2020 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "King Abdullah said Nawaz was his friend, had to let him go: Musharraf". Dunya News. 14 February 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  7. ^ Zeeshan Haider (8 September 2007). "Saudi Arabia urges ex-Pakistani PM to stay in exile". Reuters. Retrieved 2 December 2021.

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