Faisal bin Abdullah Al Saud (; born 13 May 1950) is a retired Saudi Arabian politician and businessman who served as the Saudi Arabian minister of education from 2009 to 2013 in the administration of King Abdullah, his maternal uncle and father-in-law. He is a member of the

House of 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 ...

Early life and education

Faisal bin Abdullah was born in Riyadh on 13 May 1950. He is one of the descendants of Saud bin Faisal. His mother is Nouf bint Abdulaziz Al Saud, a daughter of

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'', ...

and the full sister of King Abdullah. Prince Faisal was educated in the United States, receiving a bachelor's degree in business administration from

Menlo College Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and located in Atherton, California, United States. Campus Menlo College is situated on a 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco an ...

in 1971 and a master's degree in industrial engineering from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1977. His master's degree studies included the fields of values, technologies and society, and

futurology Futures studies, futures research or futurology is the systematic, interdisciplinary and holistic study of social and technological advancement, and other environmental trends, often for the purpose of exploring how people will live and wor ...

Career

Faisal bin Abdullah worked in the research and industrial development center at the ministry of commerce from 1971 to 1973. During the period 1992 to 1997, he founded companies and became stakeholder in some firms. Faisal bin Abdullah was deputy commander of the National Guard’s western sector from 1992 to 2003. In the years before his 2009 appointment as minister of education, he was deputy chief of

General Intelligence Presidency The General Intelligence Presidency (GIP) ( ) is the primary intelligence agency of Saudi Arabia. Structure The highest authority for GIP is the King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman. In accordance with Article 60 of the Basic Law, he has the aut ...

(GIP), a position he had held since 2003. Prince Faisal was responsible for the reorganization of GIP's administrative structure. In addition to these official posts, Faisal bin Abdullah played a role in improving the

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; ') is a Private university, private research university located in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. Founded in 2009, the university provides research and graduate training programs in English ...

. He was also the chairman of steering committee of Al Aghar Group of Strategic Thought. Faisal bin Abdullah was appointed minister of education to the Saudi cabinet on 14 February 2009, replacing Abdullah bin Saleh bin Obaid who had been in this post since 2005. At the time of the appointment, western news media reported that Faisal had earlier been involved in efforts to reduce extremist influences from the Saudi education system; his appointment was thought to reflect the King's intention to reinforce efforts to reduce the influence of extremists in the domain of education. However, his appointment as well as the others made in 2009 was regarded as a struggle for power rather than a dynamic of reform. On 22 December 2013, Prince Faisal was removed from office upon his request and replaced by

Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud Khalid bin Faisal Al Saud ( ''Khālid bin Fayṣal Āl Suʿūd''; born 24 February 1940), commonly known as Khalid Al-Faisal, is a Saudi Arabian politician, artist, and poet who is the governor of Makkah Province, in office from 2007 to 2013 an ...

in the post.

Views

It was thought that Faisal bin Abdullah supported the reform initiatives of King Abdullah. Furthermore, he was regarded as progressive. Faisal bin Abdullah described King Abdullah as "the closest route between two points - a straight line." He further argued that the king perceived the things as straightforward. Faisal bin Abdullah stated in 2010 that curricula should be reorganized and improved to include more focus on progressive development and investment in human beings and to depend on

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

's religious, historical and cultural characteristics. He told in May 2010, speaking on Saudi Television's "Good Morning" program, that women would be employed to teach boys at the public primary school level, although there are no mixed classrooms in Saudi Arabia. He further argued that it might be time for children to attend mixed-sex primary schools. Concerning the unavailability of

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

courses in public schools for female students in Saudi Arabia, he stated in August 2011 that the ministry was still reviewing the issue.

Membership

Faisal bin Abdullah was the chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Sciences. He has a keen interest in heritage with a passion for archaeology. He supports the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) which was then headed by

Sultan bin Salman Sultan bin Salman Al Saud (; ''Sulṭān bin Salmān Āl Suʿūd''; born 27 June 1956) is a Saudi prince and former Royal Saudi Air Force pilot who flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission as a payload specialist. He is the f ...

. For him, SCTA is very crucial to preserve Saudi Arabia's heritage. Faisal bin Abdullah is in favor of more parallel efforts by related authorities to assist the SCTA to achieve its mission. He is also member of the following organizations: Vice president of King Abdulaziz and his companions foundation for giftedness and creativity; president of the

Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association The Saudi Arabian Boy Scouts Association (SABSA, ) is the national Scouting organization of Saudi Arabia. Scouting was officially founded in Saudi Arabia in 1961, though Scouting was active many years prior to the founding date, and became a memb ...

, (at the age of 14 in 1963 he attended the

11th World Scout Jamboree The 11th World Scout Jamboree was held from 1–11 August 1963 in Marathon, Greece. Jamboree activities The Jamboree Camp had 11 sub-camps for the participating Scouts and 5 sub-camps for administrative and technical personnel, and covered a tot ...

Marathon, Greece Marathon (Demotic Greek: Μαραθώνας, ''Marathónas''; Ancient Greek, Attic/Katharevousa: , ''Marathṓn'') is a town in Greece and the site of the Battle of Marathon in 490 BCE, in which the heavily outnumbered Classical Athens, Athenia ...

); president of the Saudi national commission for childhood, and chairman of the board of trustees of the equestrian fund. He founded a think tank, dealing with the reform of higher education.

Personal life

Faisal bin Abdullah is married to his first cousin Adila bint Abdullah, daughter of his maternal uncle King Abdullah. Princess Adila was one of only a few female members of the royal family to have a semi-public role. It was thought that Princess Adila was very significant backing for her husband's political initiatives. They have six children, two sons and four daughters. One of their daughters is a graduate of King's College in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. As of 2010 Faisal bin Abdullah was living in

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 ...

where he had moved in 1992 when he was appointed to the National Guard in the Western Province. He is a professional photographer. He took photographs of King Abdullah's daily life when the latter was crown prince, and published them in a book. Faisal bin Abdullah received an honorary doctorate degree from the

Georgetown College Georgetown College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Georgetown, Kentucky. Chartered in 1829, Georgetown was the first Baptist college west of the Appalachian Mountains. The college offers over 40 undergraduate degrees and a Mas ...

in 2010.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Faisal Abdullah 20th-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople 20th-century Saudi Arabian engineers 20th-century Saudi Arabian military personnel 21st-century Saudi Arabian businesspeople 21st-century Saudi Arabian engineers 21st-century Saudi Arabian politicians 1950 births Menlo College alumni Stanford University alumni Education ministers of Saudi Arabia Princes of Saudi Arabia Living people Recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award Saudi Arabian industrial engineers