Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ''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 Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

. After Abdulaziz died in 1953, Prince Abdullah continued to be involved in state affairs during the reigns of his nephews

Saud The House of Saud ( ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi State, (1727–1818), and his brothers, though the ruling fac ...

, Faisal, and

Khalid Khalid (variants include Khaled and Kalid; Arabic: خالد) is a popular Arabic male given name meaning "eternal, everlasting, immortal". It also appears as a surname.

. He died in 1976.

Early life

Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman was born in 1893. He was the seventh son of

Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Abdul (also transliterated as Abdal, Abdel, Abdil, Abdol, Abdool, or Abdoul; , ) is the most frequent transliteration of the combination of the Arabic word '' Abd'' (, meaning "Servant") and the definite prefix '' al / el'' (, meaning "the"). It ...

Emir of Nejd The second Saudi state (), officially known as the Emirate of Najd, was a state that existed between 1824 and 1891 in the Najd region of what is now Saudi Arabia. Saudi rule was restored to central (Najd) and Eastern Arabia after the first Saud ...

, 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 The king of Saudi Arabia, officially the king of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (; ''Malik al-Mamlakat al-ʿArabiyat as-Suʿūdiyya''), is head of state and of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, who holds absolute power. He is the head of the Saudi ...

, while his half-brothers

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, Ahmed, and

Musaid Musaid or Imsaad () is a town in Butnan District in eastern Libya. Alternates names include: Oistant, Msa'ed, Imsa'ed, and Musa'ed. Musaid lies approximately east of Tobruk and is the major border crossing between Libya and Egypt. History Mu ...

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 Hejaz is a historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al-Bahah. It is thus known as the "Western Province ...

in 1924. He was responsible for the capture and destruction of the

Ikhwan The Ikhwān (, ), commonly known as Ikhwān man Aṭāʿa Allah (, 'Brethren of those who obey God'), was a Wahhabism, Wahhabi religious militia made up of traditionally nomadic tribesmen which formed a significant military force of the ruler Ibn ...

centre of Ghat Ghat during the

Ikhwan Revolt The Ikhwan revolt was an uprising in the Arabian Peninsula from 1927 to 1930 led by the Ikhwan. It began in 1927, when the tribesmen of the Otaibah, Mutayr and Ajman rebelled against the authority of Ibn Saud and engaged in cross-border raids ...

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 Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

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 Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

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 The Sudairi Seven (, ''As Sudayriyyūn as Sabʿah''), also spelled ''Sudairy'' or ''Sudayri'', is the commonly used name for a powerful alliance of seven full brothers within the Saudi royal family. They are also sometimes referred to as the Suda ...

. 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 Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (, ''Turkī aṯ ṯānī bin ʿAbdulʿazīz ʿĀl Suʿūd'') (1934–11 November 2016) was a Saudi Arabian politician and businessman. A member of the House of Saud, he was the full brother of King Fahd and King Salm ...

, her cousin. Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman died on 4 December 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Abdullah Abdul Rahman Abdullah 20th-century Saudi Arabian military personnel 1893 births 1976 deaths Abdullah Sons of monarchs