Faisal bin Abdullah Al Saud ( ar, فيصل بن عبدالله آل سعود, Fayṣal bin ʿAbdullāh Āl Saʿūd; born 23 July 1978) is a member of

House of Saud The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) 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 was head of the

Saudi Arabian Red Crescent Society The Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA; ar, هيئة الهلال الأحمر السعودي) is a humanitarian society that provides emergency medical services in five administrative regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1 ...

. He has been in detention since March 2020.

Early life and education

Prince Faisal was born on 23 July 1978. He is the fifth son of King Abdullah who ruled Saudi Arabia from 2005 to his death in January 2015. His mother is Hessa bint Trad Al Shaalan, who is the most prominent wife of King Abdullah. Prince Faisal has six blood siblings, including Mansour bin Abdullah. One of his full sisters is Abeer bint Abdullah who is the wife of Fahd bin Turki. Prince Faisal attended

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

, but he could not complete his education and dropped. He graduated from the

American University in London The American University in London (AUL) was an accredited university in the United Kingdom before being suspended in April 2007. It was located in Seven Sisters Road in London.Bear, Mariah P. and John Bear. Bears' Guide to Earning Degrees by Di ...

in 1983. He also attended and completed a special course in security and intelligence studies with the British Army in 1988.

Career

Faisal bin Abdullah was one of Crown Prince Abdullah's advisors. In 1991, he was appointed director general of the Department of Documents and Information at the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. N ...

and served there until 2000. Faisal then served as an advisor to the head of General Intelligence from 2000 to 2006. He was named as the head of the Saudi Arabian Red Crescent Society with the rank of minister on 20 November 2006. He was removed from the office on 18 July 2016 without any official announcement. He was replaced by Mohammad Al Qassem in the post. Faisal bin Abdullah also has some business activities.

Controversy and detention

Faisal bin Abdullah filed a lawsuit due to perceived defamation against one of ''

Al Watan Al-watan ( ar, الوطن), meaning homeland, heimat, country, or nation, may refer to: Politics Al-Watan means 'national' in Arabic and in Persian (وطن), the articles titles on Wikipedia for political parties are sometimes translated as 'nat ...

'' journalists, Saleh al Shehy in June 2007. He was

arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...

in November 2017 together with other senior members of the royal family. He was freed in December 2017 following a financial settlement, but an arbitrary travel ban was imposed on him. It was reported by

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...

in May 2020 that he had been detained again on 27 March 2020. He was taken by the Saudi security forces from his house near Riyadh.

Personal life

Former wife of Faisal bin Abdullah was Noura bint Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, a daughter of

Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, احمد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Aḥmed bin ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Suʿūd''; born 5 September 1942) is a member of House of Saud who served as deputy minister of interior from 1975 to 2012 and bri ...

. They have three children. Later they divorced. In 2001 Faisal bin Abdullah married Fahda Hussain Abdulrahman Al Athel. In 2016 they divorced. While he was in the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

in 2015 Faisal bin Abdullah survived a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which m ...

. In 2022 it was reported that he was "foot-dragging" in connection with the sale of a $16.8 milion mansion in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...

, which he bought with his then-wife Fahda Hussain Abdulrahman Al Athel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Faisal Abdullah

Faisal Faisal, Faisel, Fayçal or Faysal ( ar, فيصل) is an Arabic given name. Faisal, Fayçal or Faysal may also refer to: People * King Faisal (disambiguation) ** Faisal I of Iraq and Syria (1885–1933), leader during the Arab Revolt ** Faisal ...

1978 births

Living people Government ministers of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian prisoners and detainees