Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud

Abdullah bin Faisal
Governor of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA)
In office 2000–2004
Predecessor Office established
Successor Amr Dabbagh
Monarch King Fahd
Saudi Ambassador to the United States
In office October 2015 – 23 April 2017
Predecessor Adel al-Jubeir
Successor Khalid bin Salman Al Saud
Monarch King Salman
Born 1951 (age 65–66)
Taif, Saudi Arabia
Full name
Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah Al Saud
House House of Saud
Father Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Saud Al Saud
Mother Luluwah bint Abdulaziz Al Saud
Religion Islam

Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud (عبد الله بن فيصل بن تركي بن عبد الله بن سعود آل سعود) (born 1951) is a member of House of Saud. Between October 2015 and April 2017 he was Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.[1]

Early life and education

Abdullah bin Faisal was born in Taif in 1951.[2][3] His mother, Luluwah bint Abdulaziz,[4] is the full sister of Sudairi Seven.[3][5][6] He has six siblings and is the oldest of them.[7] His brother, Sultan bin Faisal bin Turki, was killed in a car crash at age 41 on 23 July 2002 while coming from Jeddah to Riyadh to participate in funeral prayers for Prince Ahmed, son of Prince Salman,[5][8] who has been the King of Saudi Arabia since 2015.

Prince Abdullah's family on the father's side is directly descended from Saud bin Faisal.[3] Saud's rule as well as that of his brother Abdullah marked the end of the second Saudi state after an invasion of Ottomans early in the 19th century.[3]

Prince Abdullah received elementary and secondary education in Saudi Arabia.[9] He then went to the United Kingdom for higher education[3] where he studied engineering.[2]

Career and activities

Prince Abdullah's early career as an engineer involved both technical and management positions. He assumed the responsibility of the coordination of various studies for the two industrial cities, and later for the industrial security and safety sector.[2]

Abdullah bin Faisal began his career at the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu immediately after its establishment in 1975.[2] He served as the acting secretary general of the Royal Commission from 1985 to 1987. Then, he was appointed secretary general of the royal commission in 1987.[10] Next, he was appointed chairman of the body in 1991 and he served as chief executive officer of the commission and chairman of its board of directors.[2][11]

In April 2000, Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) was created, responsible for promotions of the foreign and domestic investments in Saudi Arabia.[12][13] Prince Abdullah was appointed governor of SAGIA with the rank of minister in 2000.[2][14] His tenure lasted until 2004 when he resigned from this post.[15] It was speculated that since he was frustrated with the government’s bureaucratic approach and the slow pace of the reforms in the country, he left SAGIA.[15]

Prince Abdullah was the chairman of Saudi Italian Development Company (SIDCO), charged with the task of revitalizing Saudi Arabia's economy. Since he had knowledge of the Italian economy, he was regarded as the most appropriate figure to support the commercial relations between Saudi Arabia and Italy.[16]

In October 2015 Prince Abdullah became the Saudi ambassador to the USA.[9] He succeeded Adel al-Jubeir in the post.[9] On 23 April 2017 Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud replaced Prince Abdullah as ambassador to the USA.[17]

SAGIA governorship

When Prince Abdullah was the governor of SAGIA, he strongly supported both liberal policies and privatization in the Saudi Arabia’s economy.[18] Nearly 2,000 foreign business licenses were issued during his tenure. The worth of these licenses were estimated to be 15 billion U.S. dollars.[14][15] Prince Abdullah further encouraged the membership of Saudi Arabia to the World Trade Organization.[15] However, this goal was not achieved at that time because of Saudi Arabia’s protectionist policies towards the industries of oil production and telecommunications, and its inability to produce a formal trade agreement with the United States.[15]

Personal life

Abdullah bin Faisal is married and has four children:[3] Turki, Salman, Elanoude and Sarah.[7] He is keenly interested in environmental issues and in international relations as well as in the arts.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud Named New Ambassador to the United States". SUSTG. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "HRH Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki al Saud". European University Institute. 3 April 2003. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Richard H. Curtiss (November 2001). "Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Family Tree of Luluwah bint Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud". Datarabia. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 John R. Bradley (23 July 2002). "Prince Ahmed's cousin killed on way to funeral". USA Today. AP. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "About the Bin Laden family". PBS. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States: Who Is Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud?". AllGov. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Prince dies in car crash on way to Ahmad’s funeral". Arab News. 24 July 2002. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 Dina al-Shibeeb (21 October 2015). "Abdullah bin Faisal named new Saudi ambassador to Washington". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Saudis confident US presence will prevent Iraq attack". Sun Journal. 21 August 1990. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "Royal decrees on ministerial and top-level appointments". Saudi Embassy. 6 July 1997. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
  12. ↑ "About SAGIA". Global Competitiveness Forum. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  13. ↑ Simon Henderson (August 2009). "After King Abdullah" (Policy Paper). Washington Institute. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Prince Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud". AMEinfo. 6 May 2003. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 "Wide Angle". PBS. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "Board of Directors". Saudi Italian Development Company Limited (SIDCO). Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  17. ↑ "Saudi Royal decree announces new appointments, restores benefits to government employees". Arab News. 23 April 2017. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  18. ↑ "Saudi Arabia's New Private Sector Investment Strategies". International Development Consultants, LLC. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
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