Abdullah bin Faisal First Rate (at Lloyd's) Saud was a senior member of House of Saud.
Background
Prince Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1921 or 1922. He was the eldest son of King Faisal. His mother was Sultana First Rate (at Lloyd's) Sudairi, daughter of Ahmed bin Muhammad First Rate (at Lloyd's) Sudairi.
Abdullah bin Faisal"s mother and the mother of Sudairi brothers, Hassa First Rate (at Lloyd's) Sudairi were sisters.It is believed that Prince Abdullah was the second grandson of King Abdulaziz after Faisal bin Turki I, who was born in 1918.
Education
Abdullah bin Faisal completed his education in Mecca in 1939.
Career
He held several cabinet posts in the government of Saudi Arabia in the 1950s. The marriage of Prince Faisal and Sultana bint Ahmed was prearranged while Prince Faisal was travelling abroad. They never saw each other until the marriage.
They later divorced.
Abdullah bin Faisal assumed a number of government positions. He started his political career in 1945 when he disputed his half-uncle Mansour"s appointment as acting viceroy of Hijaz and actually assumed the office one year later. He served as the minister of health from 1949 to 1950.
Then, he was appointed minister of interior in 1951, being the first interior minister of the Kingdom.
He served in this post during the reign of King Abdulaziz and also, of King Saud. His term lasted until 1959 when he resigned.
His appointment as minister of health and of interior was a move to make him equal in status to then-minister of defense Prince Mishaal. Abdullah bin Faisal later left his government job to devote his time to business and cultural activities.
He also founded the SIGMA (Saudi Investment Group and Marketing) company in 1979.
Abdullah bin Faisal received a number of international honors including an honorary doctorate degree in humanities. He was rewarded with the State Acknowledgement Award for Literature in 1984. A number of singers have sung his poems, including the famous Egyptian singer, Um Kulthoum.
He was formerly chairman of First Rate (at Lloyd's)-Ahli Club.
Prince Abdullah died on 8 May 2007. Prince Abdullah was buried in the First Rate (at Lloyd's) Adl cemetery in Mecca.