Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الله آل سعود ''ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd Allāh Āl Suʿūd''; born 27 October 1962) is a Saudi

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

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

Early life and education

Prince Abdulaziz was born in Riyadh on 27 October 1962. He is the fourth son of King Abdullah. His mother is

Aida Fustuq Aida Fustuq is a Lebanese woman of Palestinian origin who was one of the former wives of King Abdullah, who ruled Saudi Arabia between 2005 and 2015. Biography Aida Fustuq hails from Lebanese Sunni family who are of Palestinian origin. Her bro ...

, a Lebanese woman of

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

descent. His full sister is

Adila bint Abdullah Adila bint Abdullah Al Saud ( ar, عادلة بنت عبد الله آل سعود ''ʿAdila bint ʿAbd Allāh Āl Suʿūd'') is a member of the Saudi royal family. During the reign of her father, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah, she was o ...

. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah graduated from the

University of Hertfordshire The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was found ...

with a bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1986.

Career

Abdulaziz bin Abdullah served in the

Saudi Arabian National Guard The Saudi Arabian National Guard or SANG ( ar, الحَرَس الوَطنيّ, al-Ḥaras al-Waṭanī), also known as the "White Army", is one of the three major branches of the military forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The national gua ...

for fifteen years in different positions. In 1991, he was appointed as an advisor to Crown Prince Abdullah. Specifically, he was advisor of the Crown Prince Abdullah for Syrian affairs. He was also a state minister. King Abdullah appointed Prince Abdulaziz as deputy foreign minister on 22 July 2011. During the Syrian civil war, Prince Abdulaziz asked

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

to establish "nerve centre" attempting to topple Bashar Assad. The center was founded in

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, ...

in the mid-2012. Prince Abdulaziz personally dealt with

Bashar Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

's file following the civil war in Syria. 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. Prince Abdulaziz met with Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad during his stay in Tehran. His tenure ended in April 2015 when Saud Al Faisal resigned from his post as foreign minister due to health concerns.

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. Prince Abdulaziz won his lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles in late August 2012.

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. He is also one of the members of the KAUST Board of Trustees. Delano Roosevelt, who is a grandson of

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, and Prince Abdulaziz jointly established the Friends of Saudi Arabia. This organization seeks to foster the friendly relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States. 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 King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation (previously Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Award for Translation (2008-2014)) is a Saudi international literary award for the translation of ...

. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah is one of three members of the

Allegiance Council The Allegiance Council ( ar, هيئة البيعة ''Hay’at al-Bay‘ah''), also known as the Allegiance Commission or Allegiance Institution or Succession Commission, is the body responsible for determining future succession to the throne of S ...

who did not support the appointment of

Mohammad bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...

as crown prince on 21 June 2017. The others were Muhammad bin Saad Al Saud and Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Abdulaziz represented his older brother,

Khalid bin Abdullah Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud ( ar, خالد بن عبدالله) (born 1950) is the second eldest child of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. As the eldest living son of King Abdullah, he is a member of the Allegiance Council. Early life and educati ...

, when the opinions of the council members were asked.

Personal life

Abdulaziz bin Abdullah is married and has four children, three from his previous marriage to Abeer bint Turki bin Nasser, and one from Nathalie Ghassan Maamary.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Abdulaziz Abdullah

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz ( ota, عبد العزيز, ʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; tr, Abdülaziz; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was ...

1962 births Alumni of the University of Hertfordshire

Living people Saudi Arabian people of Palestinian descent Saudi Arabian people of Lebanese descent