Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud (; born 1951) is a Saudi royal and government official who served as the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States from October 2015 to April 2017.

Early life and education

Abdullah bin Faisal was born in

Taif Taif (, ) is a city and governorate in Mecca Province in Saudi Arabia. Located at an elevation of in the slopes of the Hijaz Mountains, which themselves are part of the Sarat Mountains, the city has a population of 563,282 people in 2022, mak ...

in 1951. His mother, Luluwah bint Abdulaziz, was a 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 ...

. He is the oldest of six siblings. His brother, Sultan bin Faisal bin Turki, was killed in a car crash at age 41 on 23 July 2002 while coming from

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

to Riyadh to participate in funeral prayers for Prince Ahmed, son of

Prince Salman A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

. Prince Abdullah is the brother-in-law of Abdul Rahman bin Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud,

Sultan bin Fahd Al Saud Sultan bin Fahd Al Saud (; born 1951) is a member of House of Saud, son of King Fahd, and grandson of Saudi's founder King Abdulaziz. A graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Prince Sultan is the former president (1999-2011) of Youth ...

and

Saud bin Nayef Al Saud Saud bin Nayef Al Saud (; born 1956) is a Saudi Arabian politician who has served as governor of Eastern Province since 13 January 2013. A member of the House of Saud and a grandson of Saudi's founder King Abdulaziz, he is the former head of th ...

. Prince Abdullah's family on the father's side is directly descended from Saud bin Faisal. Saud's rule as well as that of his brother

Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...

witnessed civil war between these rulers, leading to the end of the

second Saudi state 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 Sau ...

after an invasion of

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

early in the 19th century. Prince Abdullah received elementary and secondary education in Saudi Arabia. He then went to the United Kingdom for higher education where he studied engineering.

Career and activities

Following graduation, Abdullah bin Faisal first worked at a factory in England. His early career as an engineer involved both technical and management positions in Saudi Arabia. He assumed the responsibility of the coordination of various studies for the two industrial cities, and later for the industrial security and safety sector. Abdullah bin Faisal was the acting secretary general between 1975 and 1977 at the

Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) was established on 21 September 1975, as an autonomous organization of the Saudi Arabian Government. The commission is governed by a board of directors and its chairman reports to the Council of Mi ...

immediately after established by

King Khalid Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 13 February 1913 13 June 1982) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 25 March 1975 until his death in 1982. Before his death, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the fifth son of King Abdulaziz ...

in 1975. Then, he was appointed secretary general of the royal commission in 1987. Next, he was appointed chairman of the body in 1991 and served as chief executive officer of the commission and chairman of its board of directors. In April 2000 the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) was created, responsible for promotions of the foreign and domestic investments in Saudi Arabia. Prince Abdullah was appointed governor of the SAGIA with the rank of minister in 2000. His tenure lasted until 2004 when he resigned from this post. It was speculated that since he was frustrated with the government's bureaucratic approach and the slow pace of the reforms in the country, he left the SAGIA. Prince Abdullah was the chairman of Saudi Italian Development Company (SIDCO), charged with the task of revitalizing Saudi Arabia's economy. Since he had knowledge of the Italian economy, he was regarded as the most appropriate figure to support the commercial relations between Saudi Arabia and Italy. In October 2015 Prince Abdullah became the Saudi ambassador to the USA. He succeeded Adel al-Jubeir in the post. On 23 April 2017 Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud replaced Prince Abdullah as ambassador to the USA.

SAGIA governorship

During his tenure at the SAGIA Prince Abdullah strongly supported both liberal policies and privatization in the Saudi Arabia's economy. Nearly 2,000 foreign business licenses were issued during his tenure. The worth of these licenses were estimated to be 15 billion U.S. dollars. Prince Abdullah further encouraged the membership of Saudi Arabia to the World Trade Organization. However, this goal was not achieved at that time because of Saudi Arabia's protectionist policies towards the industries of oil production and telecommunications, and its inability to produce a formal trade agreement with the United States.

Personal life

Abdullah bin Faisal is married and has four children: Turki, Salman, Al Anoud and Sarah. He is keenly interested in environmental issues and in international relations as well as in the arts.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Abdullah Faisal 20th-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople 20th-century Saudi Arabian engineers 21st-century Saudi Arabian diplomats 21st-century Saudi Arabian engineers 21st-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople 1951 births Living people Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to the United States Abdullah Faisal Leaders of organizations