سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود Sultan bin Abdul Aziz
House of Saud
Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al Saud
Prince Sultan
Offspring
Khalid Bandar Fahad Faysal Salman Badr Fawwaz Abdallah Mansur Mish'al Abd al-Ilah Nawwaf Turki Saud Nayef Ahmed Abdulmajeed

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (Arabic: صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود‎) (born 1926) is the Crown Prince of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and First Deputy Prime Minister.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Wives 3 References 4 External links

[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 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, providing the Kingdom with a modern, well-equipped defense capability. However, his alleged roles in numerous corruption scandals involving hundreds of billions of dollars in military contracts, bought to the forefront by the Yamamah contract, has severely marred his public persona, and further bolstered his reputation as among the most corrupt, and wealthiest members of the Saudi Royal Family. He is known for his financial benevolence, yet is not as popular as King Abdullah who is viewed as personally incorrupt.

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 Abdulaziz 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. Both Bandar and Khalid are implicated in corruption scandals surrounding weapons contracts signed by their father.

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

[edit] External links

• Saudi Info website
• Biography from Saudi Arabian Airlines
• Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water - Official Website
• King Fahd's death, succession