Sultan, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
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| سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود Sultan bin Abdul Aziz |
|---|
| House of Saud |
| Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al Saud |
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia |
| Offspring |
Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود) (born January 5, 1928 in Riyadh) is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and First Deputy Prime Minister. He received his early education in religion, modern culture and diplomacy along with his brothers at the royal court. Prince Sultan was appointed Governor of Riyadh in 1947. He became Minister of Agriculture in 1953 and Minister of Communications in 1955. It was during this period that he oversaw the construction of the Kingdom's rail link between Dammam and Riyadh, as well as the building of roads and other transport links.
He has been the Minister of Defence and Aviation since 1962. In this role, Prince Sultan has presided over the development of Saudi Arabia's army, navy and airforce, providing the Kingdom with a modern, well-equipped defense capability. In 1982 was named by his full brother King Fahd as Second Deputy Prime Minister, the position Fahd and King Abdullah each held immediately before becoming Crown Prince. On August 1st, 2005, he became the crown prince as a result of King Fahd's death despite being rumoured to "to get on very badly" with the new king. [1]
Prince Sultan is also the inspector general for the kingdom, and is Chairman of the Board of Saudi Arabia's national airline, Saudi Arabian Airlines.
His son, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, is the former Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, while another son, Prince Khalid bin Sultan, was a key Saudi general in the 1991 Gulf War.
He is one of the Sudairi Seven, seven close-knit sons of King Abdul Aziz "ibn Saud" by Hassa bint Ahmad Sudairi. Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, the Interior Minister, and Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh, are among the others.
Prince Sultan denied the United States use of Saudi bases to stage military strikes on Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks, stating that his government "will not accept in [Saudi Arabia] even a single soldier who will attack Muslims or Arabs."
On 15th August 2002, he was one of three Saudi princes sued for allegedly helping to finance the terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001, the other two being Prince Turki bin Faisal and Prince Mohammed bin Faisal.
