Sultan bin Salman Al Saud (; ''Sulṭān bin Salmān Āl Suʿūd''; born 27 June 1956) is a Saudi prince and former

Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF; ) is the military aviation, aviation branch of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian Armed Forces. The Royal Saudi Air Force currently has wings, squadrons, and a special forces unit dedicated to comba ...

pilot who flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission as a

payload specialist A payload specialist (PS) was an individual selected and trained by commercial or research organizations for flights of a specific payload on a NASA Space Shuttle mission. People assigned as payload specialists included individuals selected by t ...

. He is the first member of a royal family to fly in space, the first Arab and the first Muslim to fly in space, as well as (at 28 years old) the youngest person ever to fly on a

space shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

. On 27 December 2018, he was appointed as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission with the rank of minister. He is the eldest surviving son of King Salman and one of the grandsons of Saudi's founder King Abdulaziz.

Early life and education

Sultan was born in Riyadh on 27 June 1956, as the second son of Prince Salman, then governor of Riyadh province and now King of Saudi Arabia. His mother was Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi. She was a daughter of King Salman's uncle, Turki bin Ahmed Al Sudairi, who was one of the former governors of al-Jouf,

Jizan Jizan () is a city and the capital of Jazan Province, which lies in the southwest corner of Saudi Arabia. Jizan is situated on the coast of the Red Sea and serves a large agricultural heartland that has a population of 173,919 as of 2022 and over ...

and

Asir Province Asir, officially the Aseer Province, is a province of Saudi Arabia in southern Arabia. It has an area of , and an estimated population of 2,024,285 (in 2022). Asir is bounded by the Mecca Province to the north and west, al-Bahah Province to the ...

and was a participant in the unification campaign under his cousin, the founder of the Kingdom Abdulaziz ibn Saud. Prince Sultan is a full brother of Fahd,

Ahmed Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861. Ab ...

, Faisal and Hassa. Sultan completed his elementary and secondary education in Riyadh, He received a bachelor's degree in mass communications from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1864, it has an enrollment of approximately 5,700 undergraduate students and 7,200 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: D ...

and a master's degree in social and political science with distinction from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs (Maxwell School) is the professional public policy school of Syracuse University, a private research university in Syracuse, New York. The school is organized in 11 academic departments and 1 ...

in 1999.

Early experience

Sultan bin Salman started his career in 1982 as a researcher in the department of international communications at the Ministry of Information in Saudi Arabia. His tenure lasted until 1984. He served as deputy director of the Saudi media committee for the Saudi athletes participating in the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Later that year, the department of TV advertising was created at the Ministry of Information, and he was appointed its acting director. From 17 June through 24 June 1985, he flew as a

on STS-51-G ''Discovery''. As one of a seven-member international crew, which also included American and French

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

s, he represented the

Arab Satellite Communications Organization The Arab Satellite Communications Organization (often abbreviated as Arabsat) is a communications satellite operator in the Arab World, headquartered in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Arabsat was created to deliver satellite-based, public ...

(ARABSAT) in deploying its

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

, ARABSAT-1B. Later, he assisted in establishing the

Association of Space Explorers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

, an international organization comprising all astronauts and

cosmonaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

s who have been in space. Currently, Sultan is a member of ASE's International Executive Committee. Portrait of STS 51-G crew

In 1985, Sultan recorded a commercial message that was broadcast on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

during the

Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...

concert event. His message mentioned his recent trip on the Space Shuttle and was one of 33 such by notable individuals including

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

Cesar Chavez Cesario Estrada Chavez (; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta and lesser known Gilbert Padilla, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), ...

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

, Coretta Scott King,

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy ( ; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor and director, famous for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes Development of Spock, originating Spock in Star Trek: T ...

, Sting,

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop o ...

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

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Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...

Patsy Mink Patsy Matsu Mink ( Takemoto; , December 6, 1927 – September 28, 2002) was an American attorney and politician from the U.S. state of Hawaii who served in the United States House of Representatives for 24 years as a member of the Democratic ...

Erich Honecker Erich Ernst Paul Honecker (; 25 August 1912 – 29 May 1994) was a German communist politician who led the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. He held the post ...

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer-songwriter and DJ who rose to fame as the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. He began his solo career in 1987. Boy George grew up in Eltham a ...

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (July 9, 1947 – April 10, 2024), also known by his nickname "the Juice", was an American professional American football, football player, actor, and media personality who played in the National Football League (NFL) ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

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David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...

, and

Peter Ueberroth Peter Victor Ueberroth (; born September 2, 1937) is an American sports and business executive known for his involvement in the Olympics and in Major League Baseball. A Los Angeles–based businessman, he was the chairman of the Los Angeles Ol ...

. Sultan bin Salman served in the

beginning in 1985 and held the rank of lieutenant colonel. He retired from the air force in 1996 with the rank of colonel. S85-32002

At the time of his space flight, Sultan had over 1,000 cumulative hours of flight time; as of February 2020, he has over 8,000 flight hours as a military and civilian pilot.

Positions

In December 2018, he was the chairman of the board of the Saudi Space Commission. From 2009 until joining the space commission, Sultan bin Salman served as the president and chairman of the

Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage The Ministry of Tourism (MoT; ), before 2020 as the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), until 2015 as the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) and prior to 2008 as the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT), is ...

(SCTH). He served as the commission's secretary general since its inception in 2000. As secretary-general, he contributed significantly to the improvement of Saudi Arabia's tourism and national heritage strategy, and organizational building and innovation in the Saudi government. On 3 May 2021, Sultan bin Salman was appointed as special advisor to the King with a rank of minister, and chairman of the board of trustees of King Salman Foundation, a newly established non-profit organization.

Books

Sultan bin Salman Al Saud has written several books: * ''Early Documents in (Saudi) Architectural Legacy'' (وثائق مبكرة في مسيرة التراث العمراني) (2010) * ''The Architectural Heritage'' (سيرة في التراث العمراني) (2010) * ''One planet, the story of the first Arab mission to space'' (2011), together with Ahmed Nabil Abo Khatwa and Tarek Ali Fadaak * ''The Possible Imagination'' (الخيال الممكن) He also edited the book by Facey, William, ''Back to Earth: Adobe Building in Saudi Arabia'', Riyadh: Al Turath Foundation (2015).

Personal life

Sultan bin Salman is married to Princess Haifa, daughter of Prince Saud bin Faisal, the former minister of foreign affairs of Saudi Arabia and the son of King Faisal. They have three children. His son, Salman (born 1990), attended St. Andrew's University in Scotland and Oxford University and married a daughter of Prince Khalid bin Saud Aql Saud, a great-grandson of Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman, the brother of King Abdulaziz, in Riyadh on 5 December 2012. His daughter (born 1994) also attended St. Andrews University. Sultan enjoys flying, gliding, skiing, and exploring nature in his spare time. He owns a farm in

Diriyah Diriyah (; formerly romanization of Arabic, romanized as Dereyeh and Dariyya) is a towns in Saudi Arabia, town and governorate in Saudi Arabia. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, Diriyah was the original home of t ...

which is a model of modern facilities in a historical setting. His farm reflects his attempt to retrace the origins of the Al Saud family, and to document the Al Saud's claims over the

Najd Najd is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes most of the central region of Saudi Arabia. It is roughly bounded by the Hejaz region to the west, the Nafud desert in Al-Jawf Province, al-Jawf to the north, ...

Awards

Sultan has received the following awards/recognition: * The King Abdulaziz Sash, KSA (1985) * Certificate of Appreciation,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

(1985) *

NASA Space Flight Medal The NASA Space Flight Medal is a decoration of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. According to its statutes, it is awarded "for significant achievement or service during individual participation as a civilian or military astronau ...

(1985) * Officier de la Légion d’Honneur (1985) * Resolution by the House of Representatives of Massachusetts, commending the first Saudi Arabian Astronaut in space (1985) * First Class Order of the Republic, Republic of Tunisia (1985) * Al Bahrain Medal First Class,

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

(1985) * Hilal-I Pakistan (Order of Pakistan)

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

(1986) * Key to the County of

, California (1986) * Key to the City of

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, Texas, (1986) * Honorary PhD, The

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) is a nonprofit research university in Dhahran, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Founded near the earliest local oil fields as the College of Petroleum & Minerals (1963) in response to the ...

(1987) * Golden Medal of Science and Art,

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

(1987) * Independence Medal First Class,

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

(1987) * Medal of National Arts, Lebanon (1987) * Sultan Qaboos Medal, Sultanate of Oman (1987) * Independence Sash, State of Qatar (1987) * Medal of Sash First Class, State of Kuwait (1987) * Order of Merit First Class, Republic of Yemen (1987) * Medal of Stars, Grand Sash, China (1987) *

Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF; ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well as the policing of its international borders. The IQAF also acts as a support force for t ...

Badge, Republic of Iraq (1987) * Order of the Throne, Kingdom of

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

(1987) * Military Honor Medal, Syrian Arab Republic (1988) * Commandeur de l’Ordre de la Grande Étoile de Djibouti – Republic of Djibouti * Medal for Participation in the Gulf War, State of Kuwait (1993) * Liberation of Kuwait Medal, Second Class, State of Kuwait (1993) * Liberation of Kuwait Medal, Saudi Armed Forces (1993) * Certificate of Recognition, Space Studies Institute, Princeton, US * Man of the Year for Benevolent Work 1997 – “In recognition of contributions to the Disabled” - '' Al Majallah Magazine'', December 1997, Issue No. 932. * Certificate of Recognition, “For outstanding leadership and inspiration dedicated to improving the quality of life for the mentally and physically challenged”, Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine, US (1999) * Honorary Shield, Leading personalities in the Arab Tourism Sector, Arab World Tourism and Travel Exhibition, Lebanon. (2003) * “Man of the Year 2003” Prize in the field of Information Technology in the Kingdom offered by ITP Co. (2004) * Wisam Al-Hussain, Grade 1, an award presented by

King Abdullah II Abdullah II (Abdullah bin Hussein; born 30 January 1962) is King of Jordan, having ascended the throne on 7 February 1999. He is a member of the Hashemites, who have been the reigning royal family of Jordan since 1921, and is traditionally reg ...

, Kingdom of Jordan for efforts helping disabled people. (2005) * Chancellor's Medal by Syracuse University (SU) in 2012 for his role in helping to launch a collaborative partnership between SU and Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University. * CEO KSA Award for Tourism & Hospitality presented by the Arabian Business Magazine in 2012. * Leadership Award presented by the Arab Hotel Investment Conference (AHIC) in 2014. * King Leopold Medal was awarded to Sultan in 2014 by the order of King Philip of Belgium in recognition for contribution in strengthening relations between Saudi Arabia and Belgium, especially in the field of archaeology. * Middle East Municipalities Award in Cultural & Heritage Preservation presented by the Institute of Middle East Excellence Awards in 2014 * Harvard University named Sultan bin Salman as the Chief Representative of the Arabian Region and the Middle East in Tourism Leaders program in 2014 * Creativity Award presented by the Souq Okaz Higher Committee in 2015 * Arabic Leadership Award in the Care of Disabled presented by the Arab Hospital Federation in 2015 * UNWTO Award in recognition of His significant contribution to the development of tourism in the Middle East and His outstanding commitment to the global vision and work of the World Tourism Organization. Presented at the 22nd Session of the UNWTO General Assembly held in Chengdu, China in 2017 *First Class of the National Order of Merit, Tunisia (2017)Prince Sultan honored in Tunisia
- website of the

Saudi Gazette ''Saudi Gazette'' is an English-language daily newspaper launched in 1976 and published in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It is only available online, as the print version was discontinued in 2019. It is the second English-language daily newspaper in Saud ...

Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Sultan Salman

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

1956 births

Living people Military personnel of the Gulf War Officers of the Legion of Honour People from Riyadh Recipients of the Order of Leopold II Recipients of the Order of Al-Hussein bin Ali

Saudi Arabian astronauts Saudi Arabian military aviators

Space Shuttle program astronauts Syracuse University alumni University of Denver alumni Sons of kings