Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz

Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz , 1923-2005, king of Saudi Arabia (1982-2005). A son of Ibn Saud , the founder of Saudi Arabia, Fahd served as education minister (1953-62) and interior minister (1962-75) and was named (1975) crown prince by his half-brother King Khalid . He was a powerful shaper of Saudi foreign and domestic policy under Khalid, on whose death (1982) he succeeded to the throne. Fahd's decision to permit U.S. and other foreign forces to based in Saudi Arabia after the invasion of Kuwait was controversial and offended many Muslims. He encouraged limited modernization of Saudi Arabia, but the new constitution (1992) that established an appointed consultative national council left unchanged the royal family's control of the government. As a result of Fahd's prolonged illness following a 1995 stroke, de facto authority rested with Crown Prince Abdullah during the final years of his reign.

Fahd ibn Abd Al-Aziz al Saud (b. 1921). King of Saudi Arabia 1982–  The fourth son of Abd-al Aziz ibn Saud to become King, he was Minister of Education (1953–62) and Minister of the Interior (1962–75) before becoming Crown Prince to his brother, King Khalid. A playboy in his youth, he was regarded as a progressive. Nevertheless, he maintained the country's religious and social conservatism, and focused his energies on dealing with an economy that was badly damaged by the decline in oil prices during the 1980s. He was much criticized at home and in the Arab world for his moderation against Israel, but the good relations with the West which this yielded stood him in good stead as the country was threatened by a spillover of the Iran–Iraq War. Even more importantly, he was able to rally US support to defend him against Saddam Hussein's aggression in the Gulf War. The King thereafter took a more distant stance vis-à-vis the US, with an eye on domestic fundamentalist opinion. Nevertheless, he did come to the support of the US in its War against Terrorism, even though that war was directed first and foremost against its former national, Osama Bin Laden.