| Talal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud | |
|---|---|
| House | House of Saud |
| Father | King Abdul-Aziz |
| Born | August 15, 1931 Ta’if, Saudi Arabia |
Prince Talal bin Abdul-Aziz (Arabic: طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ) (born 1931), also called The Red Prince,[1] is a senior member of the Saudi royal family, and has led the Arab Gulf Program For the United Nations Development (AGFUND) since 1986. He is a former ambassador to France. He served as Minister of Communications till 1955 before the Ministry was dissolved into the Ministry of Finance. Talal led the reformist Free Prince Movement from 1958-64.
He is not a likely candidate to the succession to the Saudi throne. He is the father of billionaire Prince Al-Waleed.
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He became one of the wealthiest young princes but his bureau suffered major corruption problems.[2] Because Talal was Minister, King Abdul-Aziz created the Ministry of Air Force to prevent all flight-related matters from Talal's administration.[2] Because Talal and Prince Mishaal contended over who controlled the national airlines, Saudi Arabia was to have two separate fleets.[2] The dispute ended when Talal resigned in April 1955.[2] The Ministry of Communication was merged with the Ministry of Finance after Talal's resignation.[2] This avoided King Abdul-Aziz from the responsibility of choosing Talal's successor without causing friction in the royal family.[2]
Talal led the reformist Free Princes Movement. In 1958, he proposed a constitution which established a constitutional monarchy and expanded civil rights. He called for an elected group of advisers. The royal family rejected his reform agenda.
In 1961, his passport was revoked and he was exiled to Lebanon. He went to Egypt and aligned himself with Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
In 1964, he ended the movement and returned to Saudi Arabia. Though a senior member of Al Saud, his past political forays have diluted any hopes of a future claim for the throne.
In September 2007, he announced his desire to form a political party (illegal in Saudi Arabia) to advance his goal of liberalizing the country.
In March 2009, he called on King Abdullah to clarify the appointment of Prince Nayef as Second Deputy Prime Minister.[3] He publicly questioned whether this would make Nayef the next crown prince.[3] Prince Nayef was in fact named crown prince in October 2011 following the death of his brother, Crown Prince Sultan. He was a member of the Allegiance Council when the members were named in 2007.He resigned from the Council in November 2011.
He is the Chairman of Arab Gulf Program For The United Nations Development (AGFUND), which promotes socioeconomic development in the Middle East.[4][5] As part of AGFUND, he has led the board of trustees of the Arab Network for NGOs based in Cairo[6] and established Arab Open University.[5] He also has pushed training of women through AGFUND.[7] Through AGFUND, he has provided significant monetary support for UNICEF and UNICEF declared his as its Special Envoy in 1980.[8]
He became UNESCO's Special Envoy for Water in 2002 to encourage the development of safe water.[9]
He is the President of the Arab Council for Childhood & Development.[10] He also helped create the Mentor Foundation and is on its board of trustees.[11] He co-founded the Independent Commission for International Humanitarian Issues.[11] He is a prominent member of the League for Development of the Pasteur Institute.[11]
He has provided Saudi students Foreign Education Scholarships. He founded Saudi Arabia's first school for vocational training in 1954 and the first girls' school based in Riyadh in 1957. He donated his own birthplace palace — Al-Zahra Palace in Taif — to for a school in 1957. His private hospital in Riyadh, established in 1956, gives 70% of its profits for free health care and 10% to children's health care. He then later donated the hospital to the government and is presently called King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital.
His mother was Armenian. He is the full brother of Prince Nawwaf.
He married Umm Faisal, who is the mother of their son Prince Faisal. He later divorced her.
He married Muana As-Solh, the daughter of Riad El-Solh.[1] She was Lebanese.[12] Their children are Prince Al-Waleed,[12] Prince Khaled, and Princess Reema.[13] The marriage collapsed in 1962, they stayed separated till their divorce in 1968.[13]
He married Moudie bint Abdul-Mohsen Alangary. She was the mother of Prince Turki. They later divorced.
He is married to Princess Magdah bint Turki Al-Sudairi, daughter of Human Rights Commission President Turki bin Khaled Al-Sudairi.