Saud

Saud (Ibn Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud) , 1902-69, king of Saudi Arabia (1953-64), son of Ibn Saud, brother of Faisal. Saud, who had distinguished himself in several of his father's early campaigns, became viceroy of Nejd in 1926 and heir apparent in 1933. In 1953 he became foreign minister and minister of defense, and the same year, following his father's death, he assumed the throne. A poor administrator, Saud nearly bankrupted his country by his fiscal mismanagement and lavish personal spending. He surrendered some of his powers in 1958 to his brother Faisal, with whom he had disagreed over policy matters. In 1960, Saud reasserted his royal prerogatives but was formally deposed and replaced by his brother four years later. He died in exile in Athens.

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.