Saud Al Faisal

Saud bin Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (Arabic: سعود بن فيصل بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎) more commonly referred to as Saud al-Faisal, is the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia. Prince Saud is the grandson of the late King Abdul Aziz Ibn Saud and is the son of the late King Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud. Prince Saud is the brother of the influential Prince Turki and Prince Khalid, Governor of the Makkah Province. He is a nephew of the present King Abdullah.

Early Life and Early Involvement in Politics

Born in Taif, Saudi Arabia in 1941, Price Saud is the third son of the late King Faisal. Prince Saud graduated from Princeton University in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. He joined the Ministry of Petroleum as an economic consultant and a member of the High Coordination Committee. In 1966, he was assigned to the General Organization for Petroleum and Mineral Resources (Petromin). On February 22, 1970, he was appointed Deputy Governor of Petromin for Planning Affairs. In 1971, he was appointed Deputy Minister, Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia

Timeline

He was appointed in 1975 by King Khalid. The world's longest-serving incumbent foreign minister, Prince Saud is well regarded internationally among his peers. He speaks 7 languages. He has worked closely with Kings Khalid, Fahd and Abdullah. He plays a key role in the region. In 1985, he helped raise awareness of Saudi concern over Soviet activity in the Horn of Africa in his meeting with British. In February 2007, in response to Frances Townsend's request to use Saudi influence with Arabsat to block Al-Manar broadcasting, Prince Saud replied that Iranian-financed cultural centers in Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan are a greater source of Iranian influence in the region than Al-Manar television. On Arab-Israeli issues, Prince Saud hoped Secretary Rice would return to the region soon to address the "key substantive issues" of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees. He also said the Saudi was leaning towards an organization that has direct responsibility for disbursing charitable funds. Prince Saud asserted that the US bank is performing audits on the Saudi Embassy bank accounts beyond what is required by US law, and asking inappropriate and aggressive questions. He noted that the Saudi Embassy enjoys diplomatic immunity and asked for US government interference. In July 2004, Prince Saud al Faisal said at the Council on Foreign Relations, "Saudi Arabia, Islam, and Muslims are not the enemy. Injustice and deprivation inflicted upon the Arab and Islamic world are the true breeding ground for terrorism. These are the real enemies." [5] On August 2007, Prince Saud al Faisal dismissed reports that Saudis were traveling to Iraq as combatants in disproportionate numbers and argued that volume of “the traffic of terrorists” from Iraq to Saudi Arabia was greater than the volume flowing in the other direction. On September 2010 at the United Nations General Assembly, Prince Saud described the Arab-Israeli conflict as one of the largest obstacles to world peace and security. In January 2008, Prince Saud voiced strong support for holding parliamentary elections in Pakistan. He added that a limited postponement of the elections until February is acceptable, taking into account Benazir Bhutto's assassination. He advised that the Pakistanis should be allowed to resolve their internal political differences without overt, external interference. He described former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as "a force for stability" and "a man who can speak across party lines even to religious extremists." In February 2010, Saud told General Jones that United States must reach out to tribal leaders and separate "those we could work with" from "those we must fight." He believed that using the Pakistani military to fight extremists posed certain dangers, and that the credibility of the army must be maintained. In November 2010, Prince Saud Al-Faisal led the Saudi delegation at the G-20 Summit.

Influence

Saudi foreign policy is made by the King not the Foreign Minister. He has been described as firmly anti-Soviet and but as Arab nationalist more in line with his own generation. On Arab-Israel issues, he has been described as more intransigent than King Fahd. His relations with King Fahd were at some points strained. Prince Saud is reputed to be among King Abdullah's closest allies and has spearheaded much of Saudi Arabia's challenge to reinvent its international image after the public relations crisis it suffered following the September 11, 2001 attacks. A grandson of King Abdul Aziz, he is frequently suggested as a candidate to Saudi Arabia's line of succession, though in recent years, recurring health issues may hinder any such promotion. He has stated his legacy might be defined more by profound disappointment than by success. His generation of Arab leaders failed, he said, to produce a Palestinian state. “We have not yet seen moments of joy in all that time,” the prince said in a recent interview in his office here in the Saudi capital. “We have seen only moments of crisis; we have seen only moments of conflict, and how can you have any pleasure in anything that happens when you have people like the Palestinians living as they are?” Saud al-Faisal has not been known to hold majlis, public gatherings. (Perhaps this is an indication of his total lack of ambition to be king, despite being named often by foreigners as a possibility).

Iran and Lebanon

Prince Saud al-Faisal pushed for tougher sanctions on Iran rather than military actions, including a travel ban and further restrictions on bank lending, although he did not rule out the need for military action. Saud has openly been critical of U.S. policies they describe as having shifted the regional balance of power in favor of arch-rival Iran. He has compared the Iranian influence in Iraq with Iranian influence in Lebanon, commenting that he saw positive signs in Lebanon, where Iran urged Hezbollah to stop street protests and go back to their homes. In 2008, al-Faisal secretly proposed setting up an Arab military force to fight Hezbollah in Lebanon with the help of the United States, UN and NATO. According to leaked diplomatic memos, Faisal has accused the UN troops in Lebanon of "sitting doing nothing", and voiced concerns that Iran will use Hezbollah to take over Lebanon.

Personal life

He is married, with three sons and three daughters, and is, along with his seven brothers, a trustee of the King Faisal Foundation. He is regarded as a warm man, with a sense of humor and a willingness uncommon within the royal family to speak publicly and to talk to reporters. He lives in Jeddah. In his youth, he was tall, handsome, and articulate. He speaks excellent English and plays tennis well. He suffers from Parkinson's disease as well as a bad back and in photos often appears as though he is in agony. He recently returned home after having surgery in California. While the details of his health problems remain private, his physical appearance has clearly diminished. He struggles to hold himself upright, while his head and neck tip forward.

Death

Prince Saud suffered from Parkinson's disease and back pain. He had surgery in the United States. His physical appearance showed signs of health deterioration, especially difficulty standing upright. On 11 August 2012, Saudi Royal Court stated that Prince Saud had another surgery to remove a "simple" blockage in the intestines due to adhesions resulting from previous surgery. The operation was performed at the Specialist Hospital in Jeddah. Prince Saud went to Los Angeles after he left the hospital on 6 September 2012. The ministry announced that he would stay there for a while.

On 25 January 2015, Saudi Royal Court announced that Prince Saud had a spine surgery in the U.S. that was successful. In March 2015 he was photographed using a walker.

Prince Saud died on 9 July 2015 at the age of 75. He was described as Saudi Arabia's longest-serving foreign minister. With age, Saud faced many health problems. In the last few years, despite suffering from chronic back pain and having various surgeries, he maintained his challenging role. As foreign minister, he was quoted as expressing regret that a Palestinian state never took shape during his career.