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Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

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King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
عبد الله بن عبد العزيز آل سعود
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King of Saudi Arabia
Reign1 August 2005 – Present
Bayaa2 August 2005
PredecessorFahd
6th Commander of the Saudi National Guard
In Office26 January 1963 – 16 November 2010
PredecessorSaad bin Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud
SuccessorMutaib bin Abdullah
Born (1923-08-01) August 1, 1923 (age 101)
Riyadh, Sultanate of Nejd
Names
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Saud
HouseHouse of Saud
FatherKing Abdulaziz
MotherFahda bint Asi Al Shuraim[1]

Template:Contains Arabic text Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Template:Lang-ar ‘Abd ullāh ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd[needs IPA]) (born August 1, 1924)[3][4][5] is the King of Saudi Arabia. He ascended to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd.

Early life

Abdullah is the tenth son of King Abdulaziz.[6] He is, after his half-brothers Prince Bandar and Prince Musaid, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdulaziz. He stands 180 cm (5 ft 11 inch).

King Abdullah’s mother is a فهدة العاصي الشريم Al-Rashidi, longtime rivals of the Al Saud.[7] His mother, Fahda, descended from the powerful Shammar tribe and was the daughter of former Shammar tribe chief, Asi Shuraim.[8]

Madawi al Rasheed argues that his maternal roots and his experience of an early speech impediment led to delay in his rise to higher status among the other sons of King Abdulaziz.[9]

King Abdullah's first public office was the Mayor of Mecca.[10]

Commander of National Guard

In 1963, Abdullah was made commander of Saudi National Guard (SANG). This post allowed him to secure his position in the House of Saud. SANG which had based on the Ikhwan became a modern army force under his command. Beginning by 1985, SANG also sponsors the Janadiriyah festival that institutionalized the traditional folk dances, camel races and tribal heritage.[9]

Second Deputy Prime Minister

Abdullah with US Vice President Dan Quayle

King Khalid appointed Abdullah as Second Deputy Prime Minister, which is second in line of succession to the Saudi throne. However, Abdullah's appointment caused friction in the House of Saud.[11] Then-crown prince Prince Fahd together with his full-brothers known as Sudairi Seven supported the appointment of their own full brother, Prince Sultan.[11] Abdullah was pressured to concede control of SANG in return for his appointment as Second Deputy Prime Minister. In August 1977, this caused a debate between hundreds of princes in Riyadh.[11] Abdullah did not concede authority of SANG because he feared that would weaken his authority.[11]

Crown Prince

In June 1982, when Fahd became King, Abdullah became Crown Prince the same day. He also maintained his position as head of the National Guard.

Abdullah managed to group a large number of fringe and marginalized princes discontented with the prospect of the succession being passed among the Sudairi brothers one after the other. His control of the National Guard also was a key factor in his success in becoming crown prince.[12]

When Fahd was incapacitated by a major stroke in 1995,[13] Abdullah acted as de facto regent of Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah with former US President George W. Bush

In May 2001, Abdullah did not accept an invitation to visit Washington due to U.S. support for Israel in the Al Aqsa Intifada. Abdullah also appeared more eager than Fahd to cut government spending and open Saudi Arabia up economically. However, he surprisingly pushed for Saudi membership in the World Trade Organization.[14]

In August 2001, he ordered Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan to return to Washington. This reportedly occurred after Abdullah witnessed a brutality between an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian woman.[15] He later also condemned Israel for attacking families of accused suspects.[15]

On the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States, the then-crown prince Abdullah wrote a letter to former U.S. President George W. Bush, which ended with the following words:

"God Almighty, in His wisdom, tests the faithful by allowing such calamities to happen. But He, in His mercy, also provides us with the will and determination, generated by faith, to enable us to transform such tragedies into great achievements, and crises that seem debilitating are transformed into opportunities for the advancement of humanity. I only hope that, with your cooperation and leadership, a new world will emerge out of the rubble of the World Trade Center: a world that is blessed by the virtues of freedom, peace, prosperity and harmony."[16]

By late 2003, after the Saudi Arabian branch of al-Qaeda carried out a series of bombings that threatened to destabilize the country, Abdullah together with other decision-making elites began to deal with political concerns. One of such moves was his project to promote more tolerance for religious diversity and rein in the forces of politico-religious extremism in the kingdom, leading to the establishment of National Dialogue. In the summer of 2003, Abdallah threw his considerable weight behind the creation of a national dialogue that brought leading religious figures together, including a highly publicized meeting attended by the kingdom's preeminent Shi'i scholar Hasan al-Saffar, as well as a group of Sunni clerics who had previously expressed their loathing for the Shi'i minority.[17] (See also King Abdulaziz Center For National Dialogue)

King of Saudi Arabia

Royal Standard of the King.

Abdullah succeeded to the throne upon the death of his half-brother King Fahd. He was formally enthroned on August 3, 2005. He topped the 500 Most Influential Muslims list for two consecutive years in 2009 and 2010.[18][19]

Domestic affairs

King Abdullah's administration has realized various reforms in different fields.

In 2005, King Abdullah implemented a government scholarship program to send young Saudi men and women to Western universities for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The program offered funds for tuition and living expenses up to four years. It is estimated that more than 70,000 students studied abroad in more than 25 countries. United States, England, and Australia are the top three destinations mostly aimed for by the young Saudi students. There are more than 22,000 Saudi students studying in the US, exceeding pre-9/11 levels. Public health engagement included breast cancer awareness and CDC cooperation to set up an advanced epidemic screening network that protected this year's 3 million Hajj pilgrims.[20][21]

King Abdullah has implemented many reform measures. He has re-shuffled the Ministry of Education's leadership in February 2009 by bringing in his pro-reform son-in-law, Faisal bin Abdullah, as the new minister. He also appointed Nora bint Abdullah al Fayez, a US-educated former teacher, as deputy education minister in charge of a new department for female students.[22]

He realized a top-to-bottom restructuring of the country's courts to introduce, among other things, review of judicial decisions and more professional training for Shari'a judges. He developed a new investment promotion agency to overhaul the once-convoluted process of starting a business in Saudi Arabia. He created a regulatory body for capital markets. He has promoted the construction of the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (the country's new flagship and controversially-coed institution for advanced scientific research). He invested in educating the workforce for future jobs. The Saudi government is also encouraging the development of non-hydrocarbon sectors in which the Kingdom has a comparative advantage, including mining, solar energy, and religious tourism. The Kingdom's 2010 budget reflected these priorities—about 25 percent was devoted to education alone—and amounts to a significant economic stimulus package.[20][23]

King Abdullah with Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 11, 2007.

The response of his administration to homegrown terrorism was a series of crackdowns including raids by security forces, arrests, torture[24] and public beheadings. He vowed to fight terrorist ideologies within the country. He made the protection of Saudi Arabia's critical infrastructure a top security priority.[25]

His strategy against terrorism has been two-pronged: he has attacked the roots of the extremism that fed Al-Qaida through education and judicial reforms to weaken the influence of the most reactionary elements of Saudi Arabia's religious establishment. He is also promoting economic diversification.

He decreed in August 2010 that only officially approved religious scholars associated with the Senior Council of Ulema would be allowed to issue fatwas. Similar decrees since 2005 were previously seldom enforced. Individual fatwas relating to personal matters were exempt from the royal decree. The decree also instructed the Grand Mufti to identify eligible scholars.[26]

In light of the 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests, Abdullah laid down a $37-billion programme of new spending including new jobless benefits, education and housing subsidies, debt write-offs, and a new sports channel. There was also a pledged to spend a total of $400bn by the end of 2014 to improve education, health care and the kingdom’s infrastructure.[27] However, Saudi police arrested 100 Shiite protesters who complained of government discrimination.[28] In September, 2011, the King announced women's right to vote in the 2015 municipal council elections, a first significant reform step in the country since the protests. He also stated that women would become eligible to take part in the unelected shura.[29][30]

In January 2012 King Abdullah dismissed the head of Saudi Arabia's powerful religious police, replacing him with a more moderate cleric, state news agency SPA reported without giving reasons. Abdullatif Abdel Aziz al-Sheikh, was named in place of Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Humain, to head the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. King Abdullah, appointed Humain in 2009 to head the "mutaween" which ensures the strict application of the country's ultra-conservative version of Islam, as a step towards reforming it. Humain hired consultants to restructure the organisation, met local human rights groups and consulted professional image-builders in a broad public relations campaign. Under his leadership the commission also investigated and punished some out-of-control officers for misbehaviour.[31]

In July 2012 Saudi Arabia announced that it would allow its women athletes to compete in the Olympics for the first time. Officials say the country's Olympic Committee will "oversee participation of women athletes who can qualify". The decision will end recent speculation as to whether the entire Saudi team could have been disqualified on grounds of gender discrimination. The public participation of women in sport is still fiercely opposed by many Saudi religious conservatives. There is almost no public tradition of women participating in sport in the country. Saudi officials say that, if successful in qualifying, female competitors would be dressed "to preserve their dignity".[32]

Interfaith dialogue

In November 2007, he visited Pope Benedict XVI in the Apostolic Palace. He is the first Saudi monarch to visit the Pope.[33]

In March 2008, he called for a “brotherly and sincere dialogue between believers from all religions.”[34]

In June 2008, he held a conference at Mecca to urge Muslim leaders to speak with one voice with Jewish and Christian leaders.[35] He discussed and took approval of the Saudi Islamic scholars and the world's renowned Islamic scholars to hold the interfaith dialogue. In the same month, Saudi Arabia and Spain agreed to hold the interfaith dialogue in Spain.[36] The historic conference finally took place in Madrid in July 2008 where religious leaders of different faiths participated.[37]

He had never earlier made any overtures for dialogue with eastern religious leaders such as Hindus and Buddhists. The Mecca conference discussed an important paper on the dialogue with the followers of monotheistic religions highlighting the monotheistic religions of southeast Asia including Sikhism in the third axis of the fourth meeting titled "With Whom We Talk" presented by Sheikh Badrul Hasan Al Qasimi. The session was chaired by Dr. Ezz Eddin Ibrahim, Adviser to the President of the United Arab Emirates for Culture. The session also discussed a paper presented on coordination among Islamic institutions on Dialogue by Dr. Abdullah bin Omar Nassif, Secretary General of the World Islamic Council for Preaching and Relief and a paper on dialogue with divine messages, presented by Professor Mohammad Sammak – Secretary General of the Islamic Spiritual Summit in Lebanon.

On November 2008, he and his government were responsible for the 'Peace of Culture' which took place at the United Nations General Assembly. It brought together Muslim and non-Muslim nations to eradicate the preconception of Islam and Terrorism. It brought together leaders including former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, Israeli President Shimon Peres, former U.S. President George W. Bush and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

In 2011 an agreement for the establishment of the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue in Vienna was signed between the governments of Austria, Spain and Saudi Arabia.[38] The official opening of the centre is planned for November 2012. Prince Saud Al-Faisal will be its General Secretary, while Austria's former Federal Minister of Justice Claudia Bandion Ortner will be his deputy.

Arab common market

He called for the establishment of an Arab common market in January 2011. His foreign minister stated the Arab Customs Union would be ready by 2015 and by 2017 the common market would also be in place. There have been intensive efforts to link Arab countries with a railway system and an electricity power grid. Work on the power grid project has started in some Arab countries.[39]

United States

Abdullah visits the United States in April 2005

In October 1976, as Prince Abdullah was being trained for greater responsibility in Riyadh, he was sent to the United States to meet with President Gerald Ford. He again traveled to the United States as Crown Prince in October 1987, meeting Vice President George H. W. Bush. In September 1998, Crown Prince Abdullah made a state visit to the United States to meet in Washington, D.C. with President Bill Clinton. In September 2000, he attended millennium celebrations at the United Nations in New York City. In April 2002, Crown Prince Abdullah made a state visit to the United States with President George W. Bush and he returned again in April 2005 with Bush. In April 2009, at a summit for world leaders U.S. President Barack Obama met him. In June 2009, King Abdullah hosted President Obama in Saudi Arabia. In turn, Obama hosted King Abdullah at the White House in the same month.

He showed great support for Obama's presidency. "Thank God for bringing Obama to the presidency," he said, adding that Obama's election created "great hope" in the Muslim world.[40] He stated, "We (the U.S. and Saudi Arabia) spilled blood together" in Kuwait and Iraq and Saudi Arabia valued this tremendously and friendship can be a difficult issue that requires work but the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have done it for 70 years over three generations. "Our disagreements don't cut to the bone," he stated.[41] He was the leading gift-giver to the U.S. president and his office in his first two years in office, his gifts totaling more than $300,000. A ruby and diamond jewelry set, given by the king and accepted by Michelle Obama on behalf of the United States, was worth $132,000.[42] However, according to federal law, gifts of such nature and value are accepted "on behalf of the United States" and are considered property of the U.S. government.

He said that "it was a mistake" to limit access of Saudi citizens to the United States.[citation needed]

Iraq

The Bush Administration ignored advice from him and Saudi foreign minister Saud Al Faisal against invading Iraq.[25] However, other sources say that many Arab governments were only nominally opposed to the Iraq invasion because of popular hostility.[43] Before becoming king, Abdullah was thought to be completely against the U.S. invasion of Iraq; this, however, was not the case. Riyadh provided essential support to the United States during the war and proved that "necessity does lead to some accommodations from time to time." [44] The King expressed a complete lack of trust in Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and held out little hope for improved Saudi-Iraqi relations as long as al-Maliki remains in office.[41] King Abdullah told an Iraqi official about Nouri al-Maliki, “You and Iraq are in my heart, but that man is not.” [45]

Iran

In April 2008, King Abdullah told US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and US General David Petraeus to "cut off the head of the snake". Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir recalled the King's frequent exhortations to the US to attack Iran and to put an end to its nuclear weapons program." [46] Abdullah asserted that Iran is trying to set up Hezbollah-like organizations in African countries, observing that the Iranians don't think they are doing anything wrong and don't recognize their mistakes. He said the Iranians "launch missiles with the hope of putting fear in people and the world." The King described his conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki as "a heated exchange, frankly discussing Iran's interference in Arab affairs." When challenged by the King on Iranian meddling in Hamas affairs, Mottaki apparently protested that "these are Muslims." "No, Arabs" countered the King, "You as Persians have no business meddling in Arab matters." Abdullah said he would favor Rafsanjani in an Iranian election.[40][47]

He told General Jones that Iranian internal turmoil presented an opportunity to weaken the regime—which he encouraged—but he also urged that this be done covertly and stressed that public statements in support of the reformers were counterproductive. The King assessed that sanctions could help weaken the government, but only if they are strong and sustained.[20]

In 2006, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei had sent his adviser Ali Akbar Velayati with a letter asking for Abdullah's agreement to establish a formal back channel for communication between the two leaders. Abdullah said he had agreed, and the channel was established with Velayati and Saud Al-Faisal as the points of contact. In the years since, the King noted, the channel had never been used.[47]

Guantánamo Bay

In December 2010, leaked diplomatic cables published by WikiLeaks revealed that Abdullah wanted all detainees released from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to be tracked through an implanted microchip, in a similar way to race horses. The King made the private suggestion during a meeting in Riyadh in March 2009 with John O. Brennan, the White House counter-terrorism adviser. Brennan replied that "horses don't have good lawyers" and that such a proposal would "face legal hurdles" in the United States. In the same cables it was revealed that Abdullah also privately urged the United States to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear weapons program.[41][48]

China

Since Abdullah's visit to Beijing in January 2006, the Saudi-Chinese relationship has focused predominantly on energy and trade. The king's visit was the first by a Saudi head of state to China since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1990. [49][50] Bilateral trade with China has more than tripled, and China will soon be Saudi Arabia's largest importer. Saudi Arabia has also committed significant investments in China, including the $8 billion Fujian refinery. Based on the cablegate wikileaks report: The King has told the Chinese that it is willing to effectively trade a guaranteed oil supply in return for Chinese pressure on Iran not to develop nuclear weapons.[20]

In late March 2011, King Abdullah sent Bandar, secretary general of the National Security Council, to China to gain its support regarding Saudi Arabia's attitude towards the Arab Spring. In turn, lucrative arm contracts were secretly offered to China by the Kingdom. Furthermore, King Abdullah believes that China as well as India are the future markets for Saudi energy.[51]

Foreign relations with other nations

In a November 2009, the King was received by Nicolas Sarkozy who committed various diplomatic faux pas. The diplomatic relationship Jacques Chirac had with Saudi Arabia was not evident with Sarkozy.[52] In January 2011, the Kingdom granted asylum to the ousted Tunisian leader, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, under conditions of no further political involvement.[39]

Saudi Arabia, by the endorsement of the Gulf Cooperation Council, sent 1200 troops to Bahrain to protect industrial facilities which resulted in a strained relations with the United States. It should be mentioned that the forces sent were not Saudi forces but rather a coalition from a multitude of Arab Gulf countries. The military personnel sent were part of the Peninsula Shield forces who are stationed in Saudi Arabia but not affiliated with one country alone.[28][53][54][55]

According to leaked cables, he was more receptive than Crown Prince Sultan, to former Yemeni President Saleh.[56]

He has supported renewed diplomatic relations with the Syrian government and Bashar al-Assad. Assad attended the opening of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in October 2009. In August, 2011, he recalled the Saudi Ambassador from Damascus due to the political unrest in Syria.

In December 2011 Abdullah called on leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council to strengthen their alliance into a united “single entity” as they confront threats to national security. “I ask you today to move from a stage of cooperation to a stage of union in a single entity,” Abdullah said at the opening session of a GCC meeting in Riyadh in comments aired on Saudi state television. “No doubt, you all know we are targeted in our security and stability.”[57]

Criticism

On February 16, 2003, Parade Magazine's David Wallechinsky rated King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah as the second worst dictator in the world.[58] Most of this criticism stems from the fact that most of his citizens live under a strict Wahhabist interpretation of Sharia law, which mandates the amputation of hands as a punishment for theft and floggings for crimes like drunkenness.[59] Execution by public beheading is common for murder, rape, drug trafficking, and witchcraft, and Abdullah's policies towards the rights of women have also been criticized. In a slight rebuff to accusations of human rights violations, Saudi inmates of Najran sent the King well-wishes from jail and wished him a speedy recovery.[60]

Abdullah has also been criticized for his policies on religious freedom, which is reportedly non-existent, and the Saudi government allegedly has arrested Shiite pilgrims on the Hajj.[59] On January 24, 2007, Human Rights Watch sent an open letter to King Abdullah asking him to cease religious persecution of the Ahmadi faith in Saudi Arabia. Two letters were sent in November 2006 and February 2007 asking him to remove the travel ban on critics of the Saudi government.[61] Human Rights Watch has not yet indicated whether they have received any response to these letters.

On October 30, 2007, during a state visit to the United Kingdom, Abdullah was greeted by protesters accusing him of being a "murderer" and a "torturer". Concerns were raised in the UK about the treatment of women and homosexuals by the Saudi kingdom. Concerns were also raised over alleged bribes involving arms deals between Saudi Arabia and the UK.[62]

Succession to the throne

Further information: Line of succession to the Saudi Arabian throne

King Abdullah's heir-apparent was his half brother Crown Prince Sultan, until the latter's death on 22 October 2011. The title of Crown Prince then passed to Sultan's full brother, Prince Nayef, until his death in Geneva, Switzerland, on 16 June 2012, while undergoing medical tests for an undisclosed ailment. His third heir-apparent is Prince Salman who was named as Crown Prince on 18 June 2012.[63]

In 2006, Abdullah set up the Allegiance Council, a body that is composed of the sons and grandsons of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul-Aziz, to vote by a secret ballot to choose future kings and crown princes. The council's mandate was not to have started until after the reigns of both Abdullah and Sultan were over. It was not clear, what was to happen, when Sultan died before the end of Abdullah's reign, leaving a question as to whether the council would vote for a new crown prince, or whether Nayef would automatically fill that position. Prince Nayef was appointed Crown Prince on 27 October 2011 after consultation with the Allegiance Council by Abdullah.[64]

In November 2010, Prince Nayef chaired a cabinet meeting because of the deterioration of the King's health.[65] During the same month, King Abdullah transferred his duties as Commander of the Saudi National Guard to his son Prince Mutaib. Abdullah is credited with building up the once largely ceremonial unit into a modern 260,000-strong force that is a counterweight to the army. The Guard, which was Abdullah's original power base, protects the royal family. This was suggested as an apparent sign that the elderly monarch is beginning to lessen some of his duties.[66]

Various positions

King Abdullah was Commander of the Saudi National Guard from 1963 to 2010. He was Chairman of the Saudi Supreme Economic Council until 2009.[67] He is President of the High Council for Petroleum and Minerals, President of the King Abdulaziz Center For National Dialogue, Chairman of the Council of Civil Service, and head of the Military Service Council.

Personal life

Abdullah appears to follow his father's, King Abdulaziz's path in terms of marriage in that he married to the daughters of the al Shalan of Anizah, al Fayz of Bani Sakhr and al Jarbah of the Iraqi branch of the Shammar tribe.[9]

Abdullah has had thirteen wives, and has fathered at least thirty-five children. [68] One of his wives is sister of Rifaat al-Assad's wife.[69] He is also married to a Pakistani woman.[70]

His youngest son was born in 2003, when he was 79 years old.[71] His second son Mutaib is the Commander of the National Guard. Another son, Mishaal, has been the Governor of the Najran Province since 2009.[72] His son Abdulaziz was his former Syrian adviser [69] and is now deputy foreign affairs minister. Another son, Faisal, is the head of the Saudi Arabian Red Crescent Society. His eldest son Khaled was Deputy Commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard West until 1992.

His daughter Adila is married to Faisal bin Abdullah, the minister of education appointed in 2009.[73] Adila is one of the few Saudi princesses with a semi-public role and a known advocate of women's right to drive.[74] His other daughter, Aliya, is chairperson of the Social Service Program, a Jeddah based initiative.[citation needed] The other one, Maryam, is a doctor based in Europe, who leads a very private life away from the public.[citation needed] One of his younger daughters, Sahab, was born in 1993.[75] Sahab bint Abdullah married Bahrain King’s son Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa[75] and the wedding ceremony was on 6 June 2011.[76]

Health

The king has curtailed his activities since June 2010 with no clear explanation. Diplomats said there has been uncertainty about the extent of his health problems since Abdullah canceled a visit to France. In a television appearance in which he was seen to use a cane, King Abdullah said he was in good health but had something "bothering" him.

In November 2010, his back problems came to light in the media. He had an "accumulation of blood" around the spinal cord. He suffered from a herniated disc and was told to rest by doctors. Later, an expected—but never officially announced—visit by then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak became a phone call between the two leaders instead.[77] He was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital after a blood clot complicated a slipped disc and underwent successful back surgery,the lead surgeon was Dr. Muhammad Zaka. Dr. Zaka probably removed the herniated disk and performed a lumbar fusion.[78][79][80] He had another successful surgery in which surgeons "stabilized a number of vertebras".[81] He left the hospital on 21 December 2011 and convalesced at the New York Plaza Hotel.[82] On 22 January 2011, he left the United States and went to Morocco.[83] He then returned to the Kingdom on 23 February 2011.[84] To maintain the Kingdom's stability, Crown Prince Sultan returned from Morocco at the time.[85]

Philanthropy

  • King Abdullah paid for the separation surgery of a pair of Polish conjoined twins, which took place at the King Abd al-Aziz Medical City in Riyadh on 3 January 2005. He was given "honorary citizenship" by the Polish town of Janikowo, where the twins were born. On 18 March 2005, he was awarded the Order of the Smile (which he received during his visit to Poland in 2007).
  • He has established two libraries, the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh and another in Casablanca, Morocco.
  • He donated over $300,000 to furnish a New Orleans high school rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.
  • He established the King Abdullah University (Rawalakot) in Pakistan's Azad Jammu and Kashmir region after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.
  • On 5 February 2011, he waived $156 million USD of housing loans for nearly 3,300 Saudis who had died.[88]

Wealth

In 2011 Forbes estimated his and his immediate family's documentable wealth at US$21,000,000,000, ranking him as one of the richest royals in the world.[89]

Influence

King Abdullah was named as the most influential Muslim among 500 Muslims in 2009 and 2010.[90]

Notes

  1. ^ "King Abdullah: A Who2 Profile". Who2.com. 1 August 2005. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
  2. ^ Forbes http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/20/worlds-richest-royals-biz-richroyals08-cz_ts_0820royal_slide_4.html?thisSpeed=15000. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ "King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz". Saudiembassy.net. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  4. ^ "King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Higher Education of Saudi Arabia. 2010-08-04. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  5. ^ "Kingdom Kings". Saudi Arabia: Ministry of Commerce and Industry - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Retrieved 2012-06-28.
  6. ^ Mouline, Nabil (April–June 2010). "Power and generational transition in Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Critique internationale. 46: 1–22. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
  7. ^ A Brief History of Saudi Arabia by James Wynbrandt, Fawaz A. Gerges.
  8. ^ Hanizadeh, Hassan (2010). "Saudi Arabia without King Abdullah". PPP. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c Al Rasheed, Madawi (2009). "Modernizing authoritarian rule in Saudi Arabia". Contemporary Arab Affairs. 2 (4): 587–601. doi:10.1080/17550910903244976.
  10. ^ "Who's who: Senior Saudis". BBC. October 30, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  11. ^ a b c d [1]
  12. ^ Yamani, Mai (2009). "From fragility to stability: A survival strategy for the Saudi monarchy". Contemporary Arab Affairs. 2 (1): 90–105. doi:10.1080/17550910802576114. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  13. ^ "King Fahd ibn Abdel-Aziz Al Saud: The Times obituary", Times Online, August 1, 2005. Accessed March 29, 2008.
  14. ^ Byman, Daniel L. (Spring 2005). "The Implications of Leadership Change in the Arab World". Political Science Quarterly,. 120 (1): 59–83.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  15. ^ a b [2][dead link]
  16. ^ Crown Prince sends message to America[dead link]
  17. ^ Jones, Toby (2007). "Saudi Arabia's not so New Anti-Shi'ism". Middle East Report,. 242: 29–32. Retrieved April 18, 2012.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  18. ^ "King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies", BBC News, August 1, 2005. Accessed March 29, 2008.
  19. ^ "The 500 Most Influential Muslims 2010".
  20. ^ a b c d http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2010/02/10RIYADH178.html
  21. ^ "Saudi Arabia Sending Seventh Most Students to United States – WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/". Saudi Arabia, District of Columbia: Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  22. ^ Julian Borger (2009-02-16). "Woman Saudi Education Minister". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  23. ^ Lindsey, Ursula (October 3, 2010). "Saudi Arabia's Education Reforms Emphasize Training for Jobs – Global – The Chronicle of Higher Education". Chronicle.com. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  24. ^ Brown, Colin. Shouts of 'murderers' and 'torturers' greet King Abdullah on Palace tour, The Independent, October 31, 2007. Accessed May 17, 2008.
  25. ^ a b http://cablegate.wikileaks.org/cable/2009/03/09RIYADH496.html
  26. ^ Christopher Boucek (October 27, 2010). "Saudi Fatwa Restrictions". Carnegieendowment.org. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  27. ^ Evans-Pritchard, Ambrose (February 24, 2011). "Saudi ruler offers $36bn to stave off uprising amid warning oil price could double". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  28. ^ a b http://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFTRE72M24G20110323, Reuters, March 23, 2011.
  29. ^ Alsharif, Asma, "Saudi king gives women right to vote-UPDATE 2", Reuters, September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  30. ^ "Women in Saudi Arabia 'to vote and run in elections'". BBC News. 25 September 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); line feed character in |date= at position 4 (help)
  31. ^ "Saudi king dismisses religious police head". Google.com. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  32. ^ [3]
  33. ^ "Historic Saudi visit to Vatican". BBC News. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2011-10-23.
  34. ^ The King’s call for interfaith dialogue, Saudi Gazette.
  35. ^ Saudis launch Islamic unity drive, BBC News, June 4, 2008. Accessed June 10, 2008.
  36. ^ Inter-faith meet to be held in Spain, Saudi Gazette.
  37. ^ Let concord replace conflict – Abdullah, Saudi Gazette.
  38. ^ Speech of Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger in the King Abdullah Center, Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs
  39. ^ a b "No Politics for Ben Ali in Kingdom", Arab News, January 19, 2011.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
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Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Born: 1924
Regnal titles
Preceded by King of Saudi Arabia
2005 – present 		Incumbent

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