Rashad Pharaon (; 1912–1990) was a Syrian-born Saudi Arabian medical doctor who served as the personal physician of

Ibn Saud 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'', ...

, founder of Saudi Arabia. He also held various official posts during the reigns of three consecutive Saudi kings,

King Saud Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia from 9 November 1953 until his abdication on 2 November 1964. During his reign, he served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1953 to 1954 a ...

, King Faisal and

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 ...

Early life and education

Rashad Pharaon was born in Syria in 1912. His father was a Syrian merchant who had connections with the

Al 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 fac ...

family during the Ottoman rule in Arabia as well as at the formation period of Saudi Arabia. Pharaon studied medicine in Damascus and became a

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

Career and views

Pharaon began to serve as the private physician of Ibn Saud from 1936 which he held until Ibn Saud's death in 1953. Shukri Quwatli, future

president of Syria The president of Syria (), officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is the head of state and head of government of Syria. The president directs the executive branch and serves as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army and Syrian ...

, was instrumental in Rashad's migration to Saudi Arabia. Pharaon was briefly the Saudi ambassador to Spain from 1953 to 1954 and was made the

minister of health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

in 1954 which he held until July 1960. Next, he served as the Saudi ambassador to France between 1960 and 1966. From 1966 to 1982 he was the senior policy adviser to King Faisal and then, to King Khalid. Based on the statements of Ahmed bin Abdul Wahap

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in Al Andalus, medieval Muslim ...

Alexei Vassiliev reports that Pharaon was the closest person to King Faisal during his reign. He acted as the personal advisor of Faisal who was instrumental in the appointment of Rashad as minister of health when he was the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title, crown princess, is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. ''Crown prince ...

and

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. Although he was a native of Syria, Pharaon was among the allies of the king who were opponents of the Syrian Ba'ath regime. He continued to enjoy a high status under

and was the only non-royal official who participated in the meetings of the king with foreign leaders.

Personal life and death

His family became one of the richest families in Saudi Arabia having various assets and investments. Pharaon had five children, three sons and two daughters. His son, Ghaith Pharaon, was a businessman who received a bachelor's degree 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 ...

and an MBA from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. His another son, Mazen, was also a businessman, and Rashad Pharaon's both sons had business partnership with Prince Abdullah, eldest son of King Faisal. Rashad Pharaon died in 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pharaon, Rashad 20th-century Saudi Arabian medical doctors 20th-century Saudi Arabian politicians 1912 births 1990 deaths Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to France Ambassadors of Saudi Arabia to Spain Health ministers of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian surgeons Syrian emigrants to Saudi Arabia Syrian surgeons 20th-century Saudi Arabian diplomats Naturalised citizens of Saudi Arabia