Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

In this Arabic name, the surname is Al Saud.

Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: عبد الرحمن بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, ʿAbd ar Raḥman ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd; 1931 – 13 July 2017) was a senior member of the House of Saud and Saudi Arabian deputy minister of defense and aviation. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living member of the Sudairi Seven.^[1][2]

Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation
In office	1978 – 5 November 2011
Predecessor	Turki II bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Successor	Khalid bin Sultan
Prime Minister	List King Khalid King Fahd King Abdullah
Born	1931 Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz
Died	13 July 2017(2017-07-13) (aged 85–86)
Burial	15 July 2017 Al Adl cemetery, Mecca
Spouse	Maha Al Ibrahim Munira bint Turki bin Ahmed Al Sudairi
Names Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud
House	Al Saud
Father	King Abdulaziz
Mother	Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi
Alma mater	University of California, Berkeley California Military Academy

Early life and education

Abdul Rahman was born in 1931^[3][4] as the sixteenth son of King Abdulaziz and third son of Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi.^[5] He was the first of King Abdulaziz's sons to study in the West^[4][6] and received a bachelor's degree in economics and business administration from the University of California, Berkeley.^[3] He also graduated from the California Military Academy.^[7][8]

Career

Prince Abdul Rahman was the counsellor for royal family affairs during the mid-1970s.^[9][10] He replaced his brother, Prince Turki, as the deputy minister of defense and aviation in 1978 when Turki resigned.^[11] Prince Abdul Rahman also involved in business activities.^{[11] [12]}

During Prince Sultan’s absence from the Kingdom for medical treatment, he increased his activity at the ministry. Abdul Rahman was often described as becoming more irritable with age.^[1]

He was relieved from his post as deputy minister on 5 November 2011. According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, he was dismissed by King Abdullah when, unhappy at being bypassed as crown prince in favor of Prince Nayef, he refused to declare allegiance to Nayef.^[13]

Views and succession

Following the Gulf War, Prince Abdul Rahman, as deputy defense minister, objected to the request of Prince Khalid bin Sultan to be named as the chief of staff of the Saudi army.^[14]

Personal life and death

Prince Abdul Rahman married Maha Al Ibrahim, sister of King Fahd's wife Al Jawhara Al Ibrahim and Al Ibrahim's brothers (including Waleed Al Ibrahim).^[15] Another wife was Munira bint Turki bin Ahmed Al Sudairi.^[16] His son-in-law is Nayef bin Fawwaz Al Sha'lan.^[17] One of Abdul Rahman's son, Mohammed, was named the deputy governor of Riyadh in 2017.^[18]

Abdul Rahman died on 13 July 2017 at the age of 86.^[19] Funeral prayers were performed at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on 15 July, and he was buried at Al Adl cemetery.^[19] One of his sons, Saud, died in November 2021, just a few years after Abdul Rahman.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Abdul Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

16. Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad 8. Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud 17. Hia bint Hamad bin Ali Al Faqih Angari Tamimi 4. Abdul Rahman bin Faisal 18. Mishari bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Saud 9. Sara bint Mishari bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan Al Saud 2. Abdulaziz ibn Saud 20. Mohammed bin Turki bin Suleiman Al Sudairi 10. Ahmed Al Kabir bin Mohammed bin Turki Al Sudairi 5. Sara bint Ahmed Al Sudairi 1. Abdul-Rahman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 24. Ahmed Al Kabir bin Mohammed bin Turki Al Sudairi (= 10) 12. Muhammed bin Ahmed Al Kabir Al Sudairi 6. Ahmed bin Muhammed Al Sudairi 3. Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi 28. Mohammed Al Suwaidi 14. Ali bin Mohammed Al Suwaidi 7. Sharifa bint Ali bin Mohammed Al Suwaidi

References

1. Nathaniel Kern; Matthew M. Reed (15 November 2011). "Change and succession in Saudi Arabia". Foreign Reports Bulletin.
2. "Saudi succession developments" (PDF). Foreign Reports Inc. 28 October 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
3. Who's Who in the Arab World 2007–2008 (18th ed.). Beirut: Publlitec Publications. 2007. p. 716. doi:10.1515/9783110930047. ISBN 9783598077357.
4. J. E. Peterson (2003). Historical Dictionary of Saudi Arabia (2nd ed.). Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. p. 16. ISBN 9780810827806.
5. Winberg Chai, ed. (2005). Saudi Arabia: A Modern Reader. Indianapolis, IN: University of Indianapolis Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-88093-859-4.
6. Joseph A. Kechichian (2001). Succession In Saudi Arabia. New York: Palgrave. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-312-29962-0.
7. S. Sabri. (2001). The house of Saud in commerce: A study of royal entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Delhi: I. S. Publications.
8. Ekrem Buğra Ekinci (27 January 2015). "Looking back on the life of a king". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
9. Lincoln P. Bloomfield (September 1981). "Saudi Arabia Faces the 1980s: Saudi Security Problems and American Interests". Fletcher Report. 243 (2): 255. JSTOR 45331045.
10. Gulshan Dhanani (June 1982). "The King Is Dead, Long Live the King". Economic and Political Weekly. 17 (25): 1021–1022. JSTOR 4371042.
11. Nimrod Raphaeli (September 2003). "Saudi Arabia: A Brief Guide to its Politics and Problems". MERIA. 7 (3): 11.
12. William B. Quandt (1981). Saudi Arabia in the 1980s: Foreign Policy, Security, and Oil. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-8157-2051-5.
13. Ian Bremmer (2 March 2012). "The next generation of Saudi royals is being groomed". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
14. Caryle Murphy (5 March 1992). "Glass Ceiling' In House of Saud; Princes Find Few Jobs at Top". The Washington Post. Washington DC. ProQuest 307496851. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
15. "HH Princess Al Jawhara bint Ibrahim". King Abdulaziz University. 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2012.
16. "السدارى" (in Arabic). Marefa. Archived from the original on 2 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
17. Doug Ireland (6 May 2004). "Royal Coke". LA Weekly. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
18. 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.
19. "The King performs funeral prayer on the soul of Prince Abdulrahman". Al Riyadh. Makkah. 15 July 2017. ProQuest 1919229556. Retrieved 16 October 2020.