Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud

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 and businessman who served as the deputy minister of foreign affairs from 2011 to 2015.

"Abdulaziz bin Abdullah" redirects here. For Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, see Abdulaziz Al Sheikh.

Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah aged 52
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah in London, December 2014
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office22 July 2011 — April 2015
Monarch
Prime Minister
King Abdullah
King Salman
Born (1962-10-27) 27 October 1962
Riyadh
Spouse
  • Abeer bint Turki bin Nasser (divorced)
  • Nathalie Ghassan Maamary
Issue
  • Sadeem
  • Abdullah
  • Khalid
  • Lana
Names
Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
HouseAl Saud
FatherKing Abdullah
MotherAida Fustuq
Alma materUniversity of Hertfordshire

Early life and education

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

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

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

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

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
  1. "28.10.2009: Saudi Succession: Can the Allegiance Commission Work?". Aftenposten. Wikileaks. 12 October 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  2. "Abdulaziz bin Abdullah". Dhownet. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  3. "تعرّف على أبناء وبنات الملك عبد الله الـ36". Al Sharq (in Arabic). 23 January 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  4. "The Fustok brothers, guardians of the financial secrets of King Abdullah". Intelligence Online. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  5. "محليات صور نادرة للملك عبد الله وحياته". Mz.net (in Arabic). 15 March 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  6. "H.R.H. Prince Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, vice minister of Foreign Affairs". Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  7. Simon Henderson (1994). "After King Fahd" (PDF). Washington Institute. Archived from the original (Policy Paper) on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  8. Simon Henderson (14 April 2011). "Outraged in Riyadh. Is the House of Saud dumping Obama?". Foreign Policy.
  9. "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.
  10. "Abdul Aziz appointed deputy foreign minister". Saudi Gazette. Jeddah. 23 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  11. Regan Doherty Bakr Amena (27 July 2012). "Secret Turkish nerve center leads aid to Syria rebels". Reuters. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  12. "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.
  13. Simon Henderson (29 August 2012). "Fresh Concerns about Health of Saudi King". Now Lebanon. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  14. 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.
  15. 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.
  16. Nick Allen (23 May 2012). "Son of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah suing Los Angeles over 'mega-mansion'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  17. Adrian Glick Kudler (27 August 2012). "Saudi Prince Wins (First?) BHPO Megacompound Legal Victory". LA Curbed. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  18. "Centennial Fund awarding grants". Albawaba. 24 March 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
  19. "About Us". King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  20. Simon Henderson (August 2009). "After King Abdullah" (PDF). Washington Institute. Archived from the original (Policy Paper) on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  21. 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.
  22. "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Award for Translation celebrates winners in Germany". Arab News. 10 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
  23. 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.
  24. "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.
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