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Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (Arabic: عبد الله بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود ʿAbd Allāh bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 1893 – 4 December 1976) was a Saudi Arabian statesman, soldier, and royal counsellor. He was a prominent advisor and member of the inner council of his elder half-brother, King Abdulaziz. After Abdulaziz died in 1953, Prince Abdullah continued to be involved in state affairs during the reigns of his nephews Saud, Faisal, and Khalid. He died in 1976.

Early life

Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman was born in 1893. He was the seventh son of Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, Emir of Nejd, and one of the grandsons of Emir Faisal bin Turki. He had a number of half-siblings on his father's side; his half-brother Abdulaziz would become the king of Saudi Arabia, while his half-brothers Muhammad, Ahmed, and Musaid would all play an important role in the Saudi government.

Career

Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman was prominent in the military campaigns of his elder half-brother Abdulaziz as he laid the foundations of the future state of Saudi Arabia. He led the Saudi forces in the capture of Hijaz in 1924. He was responsible for the capture and destruction of the Ikhwan centre of Ghat Ghat during the Ikhwan Revolt of 1929. He became a frequent participant in the political committee formed by the King in 1932 following the establishment of Saudi Arabia. Prince Abdullah and other senior family members met with King Abdulaziz upon the latter's request in late December 1934 to reaffirm their allegiance to Crown Prince Saud who had been appointed to the post in May 1933. However, Abdullah and his half-brothers Muhammad and Ahmed told the king that their allegiance to him was still active, but they did not renew their allegiance to the crown prince. Then they sent a letter to King Abdulaziz explaining the reasons for their views about Crown Prince Saud.

However, Abdullah continued to be the key counsellor of the King, a member of the privy council, and one of the king's official advisors until the King's death in 1953. He was a participant at the meeting with the British prime minister Winston Churchill in 1945, and was given a left-hand drive Rolls-Royce. He also accompanied King Abdulaziz to the meeting with U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt on 14 February 1945.

Abdullah was part of the council of ministers with the title of chief advisor to King Saud. During the rivalry between King Saud and Crown Prince Faisal, Abdullah first supported the former in 1960. However, from 1961 he endorsed the actions of the latter, facilitating Faisal's attempts to be successful. Upon Prince Abdullah's endorsement of Crown Prince Faisal, King Saud reduced his allowance in April 1961.

On 6 January 1965 Prince Abdullah accompanied Saud in the latter's declaration of allegiance to King Faisal. At the beginning of King Faisal's reign, Prince Abdullah became a member of the council which had been established by him to guide the succession issues.

Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman was among five senior princes who met immediately after the assassination of King Faisal and proclaimed then Crown Prince Khalid the king of Saudi Arabia.

Views, personal life and death

Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman was conservative, and opposed some new policies of King Faisal, including reduction of financial support to tribal leaders, religious figures and older members of the royal family as well as educational reforms.

Noura bint Fahd Al Muhanna Aba Al Khail was one of his spouses and the mother of Khalid bin Abdullah. His son, Abdul Rahman, was one of the members of Al Saud Family Council which was established in June 2000 by Crown Prince Abdullah to discuss private issues, including business activities of princes and marriages of princesses to non-royals. Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah married Noura bint Musaid, who was the daughter of his uncle Prince Musaid and died in July 2016.

Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman's son, Khalid bin Abdullah, married Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz, full sister of the Sudairi Seven. One of his daughters, Jawhara bint Abdullah, married Saud bin Faisal, former foreign affairs minister of Saudi Arabia. Another, Noura, was the spouse of Turki bin Abdulaziz, her cousin.

Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman died on 4 December 1976.

References

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2. ^ Mohammad Zaid Al Kahtani (December 2004). The Foreign Policy of King Abdulaziz (PhD thesis). University of Leeds.
3. "Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud (1)". King Abdulaziz Information Source. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
4. Alexei Vassiliev (2013). King Faisal: Personality, Faith and Times. London: Saqi. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-86356-761-2.
5. ^ Christopher Keesee Mellon (May 2015). "Resiliency of the Saudi Monarchy: 1745-1975" (Master's Project). The American University of Beirut. Beirut. hdl:10938/10663. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
6. ^ Madawi Al Rasheed (2010). A History of Saudi Arabia (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 71. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511993510. ISBN 978-0-5217-4754-7.
7. ^ Alexander Blay Bligh (1981). Succession to the throne in Saudi Arabia. Court Politics in the Twentieth Century (PhD thesis). Columbia University. pp. 80–81. ProQuest 303101806.
8. "Riyadh. The capital of monotheism" (PDF). Business and Finance Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2009.
9. Morgan Lighter (25 July 2008). "Sa'udi Arabia: Chapter Two – Riches". History and Histories. Retrieved 19 June 2016.
10. William A. Eddy (2005). FDR meets Ibn Saud (PDF). Vista: Selwa Press.
11. Thomas W. Lippman (April–May 2005). "The Day FDR Met Saudi Arabia's Ibn Saud" (PDF). The Link. 38 (2).
12. George T. Fitzgerald (1983). Government administration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Master of Public Administration thesis). California State University, San Bernardino.
13. ^ Yitzhak Oron, ed. (1961). Middle East Record. Vol. 2. Tel Aviv: The Moshe Dayan Center. p. 420. GGKEY:4Q1FXYK79X8.
14. John Galvani; Peter Johnson; Chris Paine; Joe Stork; Rene Theberge; Fred Vallongo (March 1976). "Saudi Arabia: Bullish on America". MERIP Reports. 26 (26): 3, 22, 27. JSTOR 3012412.
15. ^ Joseph Mann (2013). "King without a Kingdom: Deposed King Saud and his intrigues". Studia Orientalia Electronica. 1.
16. David Rundell (2020). Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-83860-594-0.
17. "Saudi's King Faisal assassinated". Sarasota Journal. 25 March 1975. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
18. "وفاة الأمير خالد بن عبد الله.. تعرف على المالك السابق لقنوات "أوربت"". Albawaba News (in Arabic). 14 January 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
19. Simon Henderson (August 2009). "After King Abdullah: Succession in Saudi Arabia". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
20. "بالصور.. أمير الرياض يؤدي صلاة الميت على الأميرة نورة بنت مساعد بن عبد الرحمن". Hasa News (in Arabic). 25 July 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
21. "Briefing" (PDF). The Guardian. 25 September 1985. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
22. Joseph A. Kechichian (2001). Succession in Saudi Arabia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 32. ISBN 9780312238803.

• 20th-century Saudi Arabian politicians
• 20th-century Saudi Arabian military personnel
• 1893 births
• 1976 deaths
• Princes of Saudi Arabia
• Sons of monarchs