{{infobox royalty| consort	no
name	Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saudسلطان بن عبد العزيز آل سعود
native name	سلطان بن عبد العزيز آل سعود
title	Crown PrinceFirst Deputy Prime MinisterMinister of Defense
full name	Sultan bin Abdul Aziz bin Abdul-Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Saud
nickname	"Sultan Al-Khair miller"
house	House of Saud
father	King Abdul-Aziz
mother	Princess Hessa Al-Sudairi
birth date	December 30, 1929
death date	October 21, 2011
birth place	Riyadh, Kingdom of Nejd and Hejaz
death place	New York City, United States
burial date	26 October 2011
burial place	Al-Oud cemetery, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
religion	Islam }}

Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud "Sultan Al-Khair" () ( 30 December 1929 – 21 October 2011) was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia at the time of his death. He served as the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Aviation. He was one of the Sudairi Seven. Sultan was first in the Saudi line of succession until his death.

Early life and education

Sultan was born in Riyadh. He was the 12th son of King Abdul-Aziz and his mother was Hassa Al-Sudairi (1900–1969).

Sultan, along with many of his brothers, received his early education in religion, modern culture, and diplomacy at the royal court.

His career in public service began in 1947 when he was appointed governor of Riyadh, whose main task is resolving the disputes among the 7.000 members of royal family.

In 1947, he oversaw ARAMCO's construction of the Kingdom's rail link between Dammam and Riyadh.

Sultan was appointed as the kingdom’s first minister of agriculture in 1953 and minister of transport in 1955.

Although his direct military experience was brief, heading the Royal Guard in Riyadh in the early 50s, he felt a lifelong connection to the military and the cause of Saudi independence from an early age. Major General Carl Von Horn, Swedish commander of the UN observer mission during the Yemeni civil war, described the Prince as "a volatile and emotional young man" in the early days.

Minister of Defense and Aviation

In 1962, King Faisal appointed Sultan as Minister of Defense and Aviation. He presided over the development of the Saudi armed forces.

Sultan purchased U.S. tanks, fighter planes, missiles and AWACS (airborne warning and control systems). However, as a result of problems assimilating technology within its armed forces, a relatively high proportion of the military equipment is stored or under maintenance, despite a large portion of Saudi's $34 billion defense budget being spent on maintaining military equipment. Sultan allegedly became extraordinarily wealthy from kickbacks by Western businesses that handled multibillion-dollar defense contracts. He was involved in many scandals, including the Al-Yamamah deal. However, his influence remained unhindered until his health began to deteriorate. During his tenure, Saudi Arabia became the largest importer of U.S. arms. He was a strong proponent of U.S.-Saudi partnership.

As well, Sultan authorized a deal with the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1965. His program, called ''Operation Magic Carpet'', traded £16 million for six second-hand Lightnings, six Hawker Hunters, and a set of missile launchers going to Royal Saudi Air Force. Geoffrey Edwards served as the official intermediary. British pilots also came over, privately contracted.

In 1996, Sultan opposed Pentagon plans to relocate U.S. troops to safer locations after the Dhahran complex bombings.

Second Deputy Prime Minister

In 1982, King Fahd appointed Sultan as Second Deputy Prime Minister.

Opposition to Sultan’s appointment as second deputy prime minister came in particular from two other half brothers, Musaid and Bandar, both of whom, like Abdullah, were born in 1923 and therefore were older than Sultan, who was born in 1924. The protestations of Musaid could be ignored because it was his son who had assassinated King Faisal. But the interests of Bandar were more difficult to disregard. Not only did he want to be the next in line but he also wanted to have Sultan’s job as minister of defense. A family dispute developed, and Bandar’s claim on the defense ministry was ultimately rejected on the grounds that he had no previous administrative experience. But, as compensation, two of his sons were given important jobs: Mansour bin Bandar as commander of the Jeddah Air Base and Faisal bin Bandar as governor of Al-Qassim Province.

Sultan was an expert on the Yemen civil war and Soviet involvement in the Horn of Africa in 1985.

Sultan had been rumored to have had colon cancer in 2003. A foreign correspondent was forced to leave the country after reporting his health problems.

Crown Prince

Royal name	Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
Dipstyle	His Royal Highness
Offstyle	Your Royal Highness
Altstyle	}}

On 1 August 2005, Sultan was designated heir apparent despite having a discord with King Abdullah.

A leaked March 2009 diplomatic cable from WikiLeaks stated that U.S. diplomats viewed Sultan as "for all intents and purposes incapacitated". He was possibly suffering dementia, specifically Alzheimer's disease.

Morocco vacation

In February 2009, Sultan underwent surgery in New York. He then convalesced at Agadir, Morocco. He went back to Saudi Arabia, but soon returned to Morocco in August. During his vacation, the Saudi cabinet increased officer salaries, a traditional domain of Sultan.

In 2009, King Abdullah took charge of all defense purchases and reduced the power of the Defense Ministry. In October 2010, Abdullah personally conducted much of the negotiations for the U.S. arms package worth over $60 billion.

In November 2010, Sultan received Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al-Hariri to discuss the future of Lebanon's government. He had been receiving treatment for the previous two years for what analysts and diplomats believed to be cancer. At the end of the month, he returned to Saudi Arabia because King Abdullah left for the United States for surgery. His return was seen as a legal formality necessary under Saudi law, which stipulates that only one of the kingdom's top two officials can be abroad at a given time.

Various positions

Sultan was Saudi Arabia's Inspector General. He was Chairman of the Board of Saudi Arabia's national airline, Saudi Arabian Airlines. As Chairman, he approved a ban on smoking inside all Saudi airports. In 1986, he founded the Saudi National Commission for Wildlife Conservation.

Scientific prizes sponsored by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz

Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz prize for water. He was the founder and patron of the Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz International Prize for Water, a bi-annual international scientific award for water research.

Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Chair for environmental engineering, department of civil engineering, King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals. It is the first chair in the university.

The scientific agreement between Prince Sultan bin Abdullaziz and Oxford University for academic and cultural co-operation, which enables Saudi students for bachelor, master and PHD degrees in the field of human sciences.

Charity works

Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud Foundation

A non-profit charity organization set up and funded by him in 1995 for social objectives. The foundation includes the following centers in different countries:

Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City

*Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Science and Technology Center

*Charity housing projects

*Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Special Education Program at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain

*Prince Sultan Center for Speech and Hearing in Bahrain

*King Abdulaziz Center for Islamic Studies at Bologna University

*Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Arab and Islamic Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Private: Committee for Relief.

This private committee organizes relief and medical convoys and sets up camps to combat diseases like Malaria and blindness. It has carried out several developmental, social and medical projects, like, digging wells, building schools, public libraries, mosques, hospitals, establishing dialysis centers. It also sponsors Muslim preachers in Ethiopia, Chad, Niger, Malawi, Mali, Comoro Islands, Djibouti and Indonesia.

Controversy

Donations

In April 2005, Sultan donated £2 million to the Ashmolean Museum. This is regarded as one of the most controversial donations Oxford University has received. A year after his donations to establish an art museum, Oxford University agreed to ‘expedite’ the scholarship application process for Saudi students, and identify colleges for ten Saudi students from Prince Sultan University (PSU). When this arrangement became public, it led to criticism from both academics and students stating that it was no academic worth to the university, bypassing Oxford’s governing council, and breaching the admissions process for prospective students.

A press release issued by Oxford University on 20 April 2005, said that:

HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud has given the Ashmolean Museum a substantial donation to provide a fitting home for the Museum’s internationally renowned collection of Islamic art. The total value of the gift is £2 million, which will also provide for ten scholarships at the University of Oxford for Saudi Arabian students.

The press release added further that ‘the new gallery, part of the ambitious redevelopment of one of the world’s oldest museums, will be named the “Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Gallery”’. Saudi Arabia’s Arab News on 21 April 2005, reported that Sultan’s donation was a ‘move to promote understanding between Islam and the West’, adding that ‘Saudi and British officials’ had said that the new gallery ‘will help to portray Islamic culture and civilization in right perspectives.’

Personal life

Sultan had thirty-two children by his multiple wives. His son Khalid was a key Saudi general in the 1991 Gulf War. After Sultan's death, he was assigned as the deputy Minister of Defence. His another son Bandar was Ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005. Fahd, another son of him, is Governor of Tabuk. Salman (born 1976), his another son, is assistant secretary-general of the National Security Council. Faisal, his fourth eldest son, is the Secretary General of Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud Foundation.

His other sons are Faisal, Turki, Nayef, Badr, Mohammed, Saud, Ahmad, Nawwaf, Abdullah, Mishaal, Mansour, Fawwaz, Abdulmajid.

One of his daughters, Reema, is married to Muhammad bin Nayef, son of the Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz. Another daughter is married to Turki bin Nasser.

Wives

Princess Monera bint Abdul-Aziz bin Mousad Al Saud, mother of Khalid, Fahd, Faisal and Turki (deceased)

Princess Huda bint Abdullah Alshaikh, mother of Saud, Nayef, Nawwaf, Badr

Princess Areej bint Salem Al Maree

Princess Jowaher bint Mohammed bin Saud bin Nasser Al Farhan Al Saud (divorced)

Princess Mouda bint Saud Al Kabeer Al Saud (divorced)

Princess Mounira bint Machaal bin Saud Al Rashid (deceased)

Princess Leila bint Thanian Al Saud (divorced)

Princess Mouda bint Salman Al Mandeel Al Khaldi (divorced)

Princess Ghadir bint Shawaan Al Shibani (divorced)

Princess Maha bint Abdullah Al Binyan (divorced)

Princess Abir bint Fahd Al Faisal Al Farhan Al Saud, mother of Fawaz (divorced)

Characteristics

He was regarded as a workaholic with a reputation as "the epitomy of corruption". His lavish spending is legendary: he doles out money at banquets in keeping with tribal custom. A conservative expected to put a brake on Abdullah's timid reforms assuming he becomes king. He was considered to be a pro-American whose son, Prince Bandar, is a former US envoy.

Wealth

Sultan’s fortune is estimated at $270 billion, which he distributed between his sons prior to his death in October 2011 in order to shore up their political position in the competitive princely arena.

Health issues

In 2004, Sultan was diagnosed with colon cancer and underwent several corrective surgeries. He underwent an operation to remove an intestinal polyp. In April 2009, he started to suffer from Alzheimer's disease. He spent several months in New York City at NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital and underwent surgery. He then convalesced at Agadir, Morocco, and remained abroad most of the time, undergoing medical treatments.

Death

According to a statement made by the Saudi Royal court on Saturday, 22 October 2011, Sultan died at dawn of an unspecified illness. According to media reports, Sultan had been battling cancer for some years and had been seeking medical treatment in the United States since June 2011. According to unnamed U.S. officials cited by the ''The New York Times'', he died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan.

His funeral was held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque in Riyadh on 26 October 2011, in the presence of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

Views

Sultan took a lifetime anti-communist and anti-Soviet view, based on his dislike of Soviet state atheism as well as Soviet interest in Gulf oil and access to ports that he felt risked Saudi independence. He rebuked U.S. President Jimmy Carter for what he saw as "pusillanimity" in the face of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

In a October 23 2001 interview in Kuwaiti newspaper ''As Seyassa'', concerning 9/11 attacks, Sultan stated “Who stands behind this terrorism and who carried out this complicated and carefully planned terrorist operation? Osama bin Laden and those with him have said what indicates that they stand behind this carefully planned act. We, in turn, ask: Are bin Laden and his supporters the only ones behind what happened or is there another power with advanced technical expertise that acted with them?”.

References

External links

Saudi Info website

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water – Official Website

King Fahd's death, succession

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud Foundation

Category:1930 births Category:2011 deaths Category:House of Saud Category:Arab politicians Category:Heirs apparent who never acceded Category:Government ministers of Saudi Arabia Category:Governors of provinces in Saudi Arabia Category:Middle Eastern royalty

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