Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud | |||||
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Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs | |||||
In office | 22 July 2011 — April 2015 | ||||
Monarch | |||||
Prime Minister | King Abdullah King Salman | ||||
Born | Riyadh | 27 October 1962||||
Spouse |
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Issue |
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House | Al Saud | ||||
Father | King Abdullah | ||||
Mother | Aida Fustuq | ||||
Alma mater | University of Hertfordshire |
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud (Arabic: عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل سعود ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd Allāh Āl Suʿūd; born 27 October 1962) is a Saudi royal, the fourth son of King Abdullah and one of the grandsons of Saudi's founder King Abdulaziz, and a businessman who served as the deputy minister of foreign affairs from 2011 to 2015.
Early life and education
[edit]Prince Abdulaziz was born in Riyadh on 27 October 1962.[1][2] He is the fourth son of King Abdullah.[3] His mother is Aida Fustuq, a Lebanese woman of Palestinian descent.[4] His full sister is Adila bint Abdullah.[5]
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah graduated from the University of Hertfordshire with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science[2] in 1986.
Career
[edit]Abdulaziz bin Abdullah served in the Saudi Arabian National Guard for fifteen years in different positions.[6] In 1991, he was appointed as an advisor to Crown Prince Abdullah.[6][7] Specifically, he was advisor of the Crown Prince Abdullah for Syrian affairs.[8] He was also a state minister.[9]
King Abdullah appointed Prince Abdulaziz as deputy foreign minister on 22 July 2011.[6][10] During the Syrian civil war, Prince Abdulaziz asked Turkey to establish "nerve centre" attempting to topple Bashar Assad.[11] The center was founded in Adana in the mid-2012.[11] Prince Abdulaziz personally dealt with Bashar Assad's file following the civil war in Syria.[12]
Prince Abdulaziz represented Saudi Arabia at the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Tehran from 30 to 31 August 2012, since foreign affairs minister Prince Saud had an operation and could not attend the meeting.[13][14] Prince Abdulaziz met with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad during his stay in Tehran.[14] His tenure ended in April 2015 when Saud Al Faisal resigned from his post as foreign minister due to health concerns.[15]
Business activities
[edit]Prince Abdulaziz is owner of Tower Lane Properties, a land development firm. It is reported that the company spent $12 million on five-and-a-quarter acres of land in the Benedict Canyon in 2009, and applied for permits to build a mansion. The project, later, was reduced to 60,000-square-foot. However, more than 1,000 residents of the area signed a petition against this project, requiring an environmental review. The Prince's lawyers filed a case against this petition.[16] Prince Abdulaziz won his lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles in late August 2012.[17]
Other activities
[edit]Abdulaziz bin Abdullah founded the Centennial Fund in July 2004 and is the chairman of the Fund which is a nonprofit organization with the goal of supporting the Saudi business.[10][18] He is also one of the members of the KAUST Board of Trustees.[19][20] Delano Roosevelt, who is a grandson of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Prince Abdulaziz jointly established the Friends of Saudi Arabia.[21] This organization seeks to foster the friendly relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States.[10] Prince Abdulaziz is also chairman of the board of trustees of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation.[22]
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah is one of three members of the Allegiance Council who did not support the appointment of Mohammad bin Salman as crown prince on 21 June 2017.[23] The others were Muhammad bin Saad Al Saud and Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.[23] Abdulaziz represented his older brother, Khalid bin Abdullah, when the opinions of the council members were asked.[23]
Personal life
[edit]Abdulaziz bin Abdullah is married and has four children, three from his previous marriage to Abeer bint Turki bin Nasser,[24] and one from Nathalie Ghassan Maamary.
References
[edit]- ^ "28.10.2009: Saudi Succession: Can the Allegiance Commission Work?". Aftenposten. Wikileaks. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
- ^ a b "Abdulaziz bin Abdullah". Dhownet. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ "تعرّف على أبناء وبنات الملك عبد الله الـ36". Al Sharq (in Arabic). 23 January 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ^ "The Fustok brothers, guardians of the financial secrets of King Abdullah". Intelligence Online. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ "محليات صور نادرة للملك عبد الله وحياته". Mz.net (in Arabic). 15 March 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- ^ a b c "H.R.H. Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, vice minister of Foreign Affairs". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ Simon Henderson (1994). "After King Fahd" (PDF). Washington Institute. Archived from the original (Policy Paper) on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
- ^ Simon Henderson (14 April 2011). "Outraged in Riyadh. Is the House of Saud dumping Obama?". Foreign Policy.
- ^ "Member of the council of the ministers as of November". Royal Embassy Washington D.C. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ a b c "Abdul Aziz appointed deputy foreign minister". Saudi Gazette. Jeddah. 23 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- ^ a b Regan Doherty Bakr Amena (27 July 2012). "Secret Turkish nerve center leads aid to Syria rebels". Reuters. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ "New Saudi spymaster marks shift in policy – Target Syria and Iran". Phantom Report. 27 July 2012. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
- ^ Simon Henderson (29 August 2012). "Fresh Concerns about Health of Saudi King". Now Lebanon. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- ^ a b Saeed Naqvi (7–13 September 2012). "Non Alignment 2.0". The Friday Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2012.
- ^ P. R. Kumaraswamy; Md. Muddassir Quamar (2016). "More effective as regent than as monarch: Abdullah's reform legacy". Contemporary Arab Affairs. 9 (3): 445–460. doi:10.1080/17550912.2016.1189108.
- ^ Nick Allen (23 May 2012). "Son of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah suing Los Angeles over 'mega-mansion'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
- ^ Adrian Glick Kudler (27 August 2012). "Saudi Prince Wins (First?) BHPO Megacompound Legal Victory". LA Curbed. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
- ^ "Centennial Fund awarding grants". Albawaba. 24 March 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
- ^ "About Us". King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ^ Simon Henderson (August 2009). "After King Abdullah" (PDF). Washington Institute. Archived from the original (Policy Paper) on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
- ^ Habib Shaikh (27 July 2008). "Friends of Saudi Arabia is breaking new grounds in US". Khaleej Times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
- ^ "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Award for Translation celebrates winners in Germany". Arab News. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ a b c Karen Elliott House (June 2017). "Saudi Arabia in Transition: From Defense to Offense, But How to Score?" (Senior Fellow Paper). Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. p. 5. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "تعرف على أسماء أبناء الملك عبد الله الـ 36.. أكبرهم متعب الأول وأصغرهم الأمير بندر". El Balad (in Arabic). 23 January 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
External links
[edit]- Media related to Abdulaziz bin Abdullah at Wikimedia Commons