Abdullah bin Suleiman Al Hamdan (, 1887–1965), commonly known as Abdullah Suleiman and also by his nickname Wazīr Kullī Shaīʾ (the minister of everything), was the

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

and long-term as well as first finance minister of Saudi Arabia (1932–1955). He was named "the minister of everything" due to his involvement in nearly all state affairs which included

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

transportation Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, ...

and mining resources among the others. During the reign of King Abdulaziz he was the most significant non-royal official.

Early life

Abdullah Suleiman was born in 1887 in Unaizah, Qassim province, Arabia. He received no formal education. His family had business activities in Unaizah. Abdullah Suleiman lived in India, Bahrain and other Gulf States before returning to his native country. In India he stayed at home of Sheikh Abdullah Al Fawzan who was a Najdi merchant settled in Bombay and a representative of King Abdulaziz there. Abdullah Suleiman established his own firm in Bahrain.

Career

His brother was working at diwan of Abdulaziz as a minor finance clerk, and Abdullah Suleiman replaced him who left the diwan due to his illness. From 1921 he began to work for Abdulaziz and was first assigned by Abdulaziz to manage his budget. Later Abdullah Suleiman became his personal advisor. Following the capture of Mecca in 1924 he was sent by Abdulaziz there together with

Hafiz Wahba Hafiz Wahba (15 July 1889 – 1967) was an Egyptian diplomat who was then naturalised in Saudi Arabia. Fuad Hamza and he were the first ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, the former in France and the latter in the United Kingdom. In addition, they wer ...

and

Abdullah Al Damluji Abdullah Al Damluji (1890–1971), also known as Abdullah Beg Al Damluji, was an Iraqi physician who served as one of Ibn Saud's advisers. He held several government positions, including the minister of foreign affairs of Najd and Hejaz and of Ir ...

, the other advisors of the monarch, to make observations in the city before his arrival. After the completion of the annexation of

Hijaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...

Abdullah Suleiman settled there to combine the Hijazi finance and Abdulaziz's court treasury. In addition, he was responsible for the management of the revenues collected from customs and post offices in the region. He was also responsible for the collection of the taxes on pilgrims. Abdullah Suleiman began to deal with financial management of the country in 1928 when the related body was named agency of finance. Following the establishment of the ministry of finance in 1932 he became the head of the organization. More specifically, in December 1931 the constitution of the council of deputies (Majlis al Wukala) was declared, and Abdullah Suleiman became one of four council members as the deputy for finance. The oil agreement with the

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was signed by Abdullah Suleiman on behalf of Saudi Arabia and Lloyd N. Hamilton on behalf of the company in Khuzam Palace, Jeddah, on 29 May 1933. Suleiman remained responsible for the relations with the company which was later renamed ARAMCO. He accompanied King Abdulaziz in his meeting with

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 ...

on 14 February 1945. In 1947 Abdullah Suleiman prepared the first budget of Saudi Arabia which was rejected by King Abdulaziz because of the inclusion of serious cuts in spending. Over time Abdullah Suleiman gained more power and appointed his brother and his son to the post of the vice and deputy finance minister, respectively. He continued to head the ministry of finance following the death of King Abdulaziz in 1953. In addition, King Saud, the successor of King Abdulaziz, made Abdullah Suleiman the head of the State Economic Council. During this period he met with Hjalmar Schacht who was a consultant of

Aristotle Socrates Onassis Aristotle Socrates Onassis (, ; el, Αριστοτέλης Ωνάσης, Aristotélis Onásis, ; 20 January 1906 – 15 March 1975), was a Greek-Argentinian shipping business magnate, magnate who amassed the world's largest privately-owned ship ...

and

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's finance expert to negotiate the terms of an agreement to establish a state owned Saudi Arabian maritime tanker company. The agreement was signed by King Saud and Onassis in January 1954. In September 1954 Suleiman asked to be relieved from the office due to his health problems, and his resignation was accepted by King Saud next year in September. However, there are many reports citing various reasons for his resignation. For instance, his involvement in the Onassis tanker agreement and his active role in the relations with Aramco are cited as reasons. Suleiman was replaced by

Mohammed Suroor Sabban Mohammed Suroor Sabban (1898–1971) was a politician, economist, publisher, and poet from Qunfodah, Saudi Arabia. Biography Mohammed was born in Qunfodah and raised in Mecca. His family originated from North Africa who were taken to Saudi ...

in the post.

Business activities

Abdullah Suleiman started his career as a businessman establishing a company in Bahrain long before his political career. He worked for Marconi company which was the importer of Ford cars in Saudi Arabia in the 1920s. He was also one of the shareholders of the Arabian maritime tanker company which was established in 1954. The other shareholders were Aristotle Onassis and merchants from Jeddah. Following his retirement from government Abdullah Suleiman focused on business activities owning hotels and trading companies. He was the owner of Basaten Hotel which had been established in the 1950s in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...

. He was also sole importer of

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cars and trucks in Saudi Arabia. He founded a cement company with Ahmed Jamjum in Jeddah, Arabian Cement Company, which started cement production in 1958. The company was praised by Aramco's Arabic magazine entitled ''Qafilat al Zayt'' as being the start of Arab industry.

Death and legacy

Abdullah Suleiman died in 1965. Al-Wazir Street (now King Faisal Road) in southern Riyadh was named after him. In 2018 J.E. Peterson published a book entitled ''Saudi Arabia Under Ibn Saud: Economic and Financial Foundations of the State'' focusing on the role of Abdullah Suleiman as minister of finance during the reign of King Abdulaziz.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamdan, Abdullah Suleiman Abdullah Abdullah 1887 births 1965 deaths Abdullah Hotel founders Abdullah Abdullah