Sultan, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
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| سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود Sultan bin Abdul Aziz |
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| House of Saud |
| Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al Saud |
 Prince Sultan |
| Offspring |
His Royal Highness Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود) (born 1926) is the Crown Prince of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is the 15th son of King Abdul Aziz, and his mother is Princess Hassa bint Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sudairy.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Riyadh, 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. During this period, he oversaw Aramco's construction of the Kingdom's rail link between Dammam and Riyadh which started in 1947.
King Faisal appointed him the Kingdom's Minister of Defence and Aviation in 1962. In this role, Sultan has presided over the development of Saudi Arabia's army, navy and air force.
In 2004, he was diagnosed with colon cancer and reportedly underwent several corrective surgeries. In April 2009, it was reported that he was, again, seriously ill, and had spent several months in New York City at New York Presbyterian Hospital undergoing surgery and shuttling thereafter between the United States and Agadir, in Morocco, where he recuperated in one of his many palaces.
In 1982, his full brother King Fahd appointed him as Second Deputy Prime Minister, the position Fahd and King Abdullah each held immediately before becoming Crown Prince. On August 1, 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] As Heir Apparent and Crown Prince, Sultan is first in the Saudi line of succession.
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.
Prince Sultan is the founder and patron of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz International Prize for Water, a bi-annual international scientific award for water research.[2]
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.
Prince Sultan is one of the Sudairi Seven, seven close-knit sons of King Abdul Aziz "ibn Saud" by Princess 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.
[edit] Wives
- H H Princess Monera Bint Abdulaziz Bin Mousad AL Saud mother of Prince Khaled
- H H Princess Houda Bint Abdullah AL-Sheikh mother of Prince Naif
- H H Princess Areej Bint Salem AL Maree Mother of Prince Abdulelah
[edit] References
- ^ Leyne, Jon. Tensions remain among Saudi royals, BBC News, August 1, 2005. Accessed December 7, 2008.
- ^ "About the Prize" psipw.org. Accessed 2008-12-31
