Abdullah, King

▪ 2006

 Upon the death of King Fahd on Aug. 1, 2005, Crown Prince Abdullah, a half brother, became king of Saudi Arabia. He formally assumed the throne, as the kingdom's sixth ruler, on August 3. Throughout the previous decade, after Fahd suffered a stroke, Abdullah had exercised control over the government. He had a reputation as a conservative leader who was, nonetheless, committed to reforming and modernizing government operations. Saudi Arabia had come under attacks by militants opposed to secularizing forces within the country, but by virtue of his character, the new king was seen as an effective power against destabilization.

      ʿAbdullah ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAziz al-Saʿud was born c. 1923 in Riyadh, in what was then Arabia. A son of Ibn Saʿud, who had founded the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, and his eighth wife, Abdullah was educated at court. For a time he lived among the Bedouin, and throughout his life he retained a high regard for traditional desert ways. His first government position was as mayor of the Islamic holy city of Mecca, and in 1962 then crown prince Faysal appointed him commissioner of the National Guard. Abdullah modernized the force, which was made up of descendants of the followers of Ibn Saʿud and which was responsible for domestic security. In 1975 he was named second deputy prime minister, and in 1982 he was designated crown prince and first deputy prime minister. An Arab nationalist, he opposed the Persian Gulf War of 1991 and the stationing of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. When King Fahd was disabled by a stroke in 1995, Abdullah became the de facto head of the Saudi government.

      Known as a religious man who had avoided the scandals frequently associated with the large royal family, Abdullah introduced a number of measured reforms, including limited political and civil liberties. As crown prince during the late 1980s and early '90s, he attempted to curb corruption among members of the royal family. He balanced the Saudi budget and introduced reforms in the government bureaucracy as well as in the country's economic institutions. Following terrorist attacks in Riyadh in 2003, he cracked down on extremist religious leaders but also introduced changes to the educational and legal systems and allowed a more open press. He was equally active in putting his stamp on Saudi foreign relations. In 2002 he proposed a comprehensive Middle East peace settlement that would include Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for the return of land to the Palestinians. He refused U.S. requests for the use of Saudi bases in the 2003 war against Iraq. In addition to holding frequent meetings with other Arab leaders, he traveled throughout the world for talks with government heads.

Robert Rauch

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