King Salman of Saudi Arabia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salman_of_Saudi_Arabia

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود‎‎, Salmān ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Sa‘ūd; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and head of the House of Saud.

He was the Deputy Governor and later the Governor of Riyadh for 48 years from 1963 to 2011. He was then appointed Minister of Defence. He was also named the Crown Prince in 2012 following the death of his brother Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Salman was crowned as the new King of Saudi Arabia on 23 January 2015 following the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah.

His major initiatives as King include the Saudi intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, Saudi Vision 2030, and a 2017 decree allowing Saudi women to drive.

Governor of Riyadh

Prince Salman returned to the country on Tuesday, November 22 to resume duties as Governor of Riyadh. Salman, who underwent spine surgery in the United States in August and remained long outside the kingdom for recuperation.
He has supervised and encouraged the expansive growth of the city from a mid-sized town into a major urban metropolis. On a larger stage, he has also served as an important liaison to develop tourism, capital projects, and foreign investment inside his country. Salman is known to favor strong political and economic ties to the West, but is also a staunch supporter of poor Muslim nations like Somalia, Sudan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and more recently, Bosnia-Herzegovina. He is also surrounded by a slew of young and well-qualified technocrats recruited from King Saud University. Prince Salman's legal counsel is William Jeffress Jr, of Houston-based Baker Botts LLP.

Influence

Within the House of Saud, Prince Salman has historically been viewed as a kingmaker rather than a potential king. Salman has a reputation for being an intelligent and hard-working man, and is a trusted mediator in settling conflicts amongst the estimated 7,000 princes in the royal family. He is reputed to be free of corruption. He is also said to wield considerable power as a key figure of the royal council — a post which allows him a hand in assigning the duties of the state to various princes.
Saudi editors often refer to the Saudi Research and Marketing Group as being “owned” by Prince Salman, despite the fact that he is not a shareholder and the official holdings amount to only ten percent of the company. It is apparently well-known that Prince Salman owns SRMG and controls its direction through his son Faisal.

Personal life

His offspring include Fahd, Ahmed, Sultan, Abdul-Aziz, Faisal, Hussa, Saud, Mohammed, Turki, Khalid, Nayif, Bandar, and Rakan.
His oldest son Fahd died in 2001 because of heart failure. Ahmad would suffer a heart attack in 2002 and also passed away. Sultan is the first Muslim in space. Abdul Aziz is the Assistant Minister of Petroleum. Faisal is Chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group.

Philanthropy

Prince Salman has also been very active in charitable activities. His manifold philanthropic services include the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research and Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society for the Care of Kidney Patients.