Khalid al-Tuwaijri is a former chief of the Royal Court of

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (, ; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015. Prior to his accession, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia since 13 June 1982. He ...

who was the highest ranking non-

prince 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 ...

in the kingdom until his sacking by

King Salman Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; born 31 December 1935) has been King of Saudi Arabia since 2015, and was Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. He is the 25th son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia. He assumed the thro ...

in 2015. As chief of the

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word ''court'' may also be app ...

, al-Tuwaijri became the most powerful official in the

Saudi Royal Family 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 fa ...

as the King's gatekeeper and confidant, where he would be the first and last to see the king during decision-making meetings, and would control who and what information would be presented before the King.

Biography

Al-Tuwaijri was born in 1960 and studied law in Saudi Arabia; after which he obtained a master's degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in the United States and another in Islamic criminal law, on returning to

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 ...

. He is an author and poet. He commissioned into the Saudi Arabian civil service in 1995, aged 35, and rotated across several positions until he became chief of the Crown Prince's Court, replacing his father

Abdulaziz al-Tuwaijri Abdulaziz bin Abd al-Muhsin al-Tuwaijri (1912–2007), was a Saudi soldier and politician. He was deputy head of the National Guard under his friend and mentor Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and was later chief of the Crown Prince's Court when ...

, a decade later in early 2005. On his ascension, King Abdullah appointed him chief of the Royal Court on 9 October 2005, replacing another commoner, Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Nuweisir. The King appointed him

secretary-general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

of the

Allegiance Council The Allegiance Council ( ''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 Saudi Arabia. It was forme ...

in 2007. In 2011, he cemented his power by replacing Prince

Abdul Aziz bin Fahd Abdulaziz bin Fahd Al Saud ( ''ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz bin Fahd Āl Suʿūd'') is a Saudi prince, a son of former King Fahd, and one of the grandsons of Saudi Arabia's founder King Abdulaziz. Early life and education His mother Al Jawhara bint Ibrah ...

as chief of the Cabinet Court, which would be merged with the Royal Court and so resulting in bringing all government business under his purview. As the secretary general, he had a say in the staffing of all the monarchy's senior positions. Al-Tuwaijri also became chief of the Royal Guard, and as a signal mark of the King's trust and favour was given other court positions. As chief of the Royal Guard, al-Tuwaijri would be in charge of personal security of the King as well as the royal court at large. By the time of King Abdullah's death, al-Tuwaijri had become unpopular with some senior princes, who described him as an "octopus," "the head of corruption", "the black box" and the "patron of the secularists" due to his huge influence and power on directing the royal court, and by extension the Kingdom's affairs. It was reported that Prince Mishaal, then the eldest surviving brother of the King Abdulaziz, used to refer to al-Tuwaijri as King Khalid because of his immense influence in the Royal Court in

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

. Al-Tuwaijri was also denounced as the prime leader of the "Westernization project" in Saudi Arabia, and was accused of trying to "shield" the king by preventing most of the Royal Family members from meeting him in his role as gatekeeper to the King. Several media sources reported the disappearance of al-Tuwaijri as soon as King Abdullah died, and many believed his removal was in effect a defeat of the liberal faction led by the late King and his most favoured son Miteb, Minister of 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. ...

and a candidate for deputy crown prince.

Arrest

On 4 November, 2017, Khaled al-Tuwaijri was arrested in Saudi Arabia in a "corruption crackdown" conducted by a purported anti-corruption committee. Along with several senior princes, Khaled al-Tuwaijri was freed in January 2018.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuwaijri, Khaled 21st-century Saudi Arabian politicians 1960 births Living people King Saud University alumni California State University alumni Government ministers of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian prisoners and detainees Members of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia