Background
Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was born in exile in Kuwait on January 12, 1902, the second son of Ibn Saud. When his father conquered Riyadh in 1902, Saud followed him with his mother and brothers.
Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was born in exile in Kuwait on January 12, 1902, the second son of Ibn Saud. When his father conquered Riyadh in 1902, Saud followed him with his mother and brothers.
He received his education in Kuwait under a leading religious scholar.
On the death of his elder brother, Saud was designated heir apparent by the consultative assembly on May 11, 1933. In his training for leadership he held important administrative posts and traveled extensively in his country and abroad. In 1934 he served as commander of the army in Asir, one of Saudi Arabia's four provinces, and in 1939 became commander-in-chief of the armed forces and viceroy of Hejaz. When in the mid-1930's tension rose between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, Saud and his brother Faisal led their armies victoriously into the heart of the enemy territory. This led to an assassination attempt by Yemeni conspirators against Saud and his father a few months later. Before his father's death, Saud headed the council of ministers. He succeeded to the throne on November 9, 1953, as an absolute monarch, restricted only by the authority of Muslim holy law. Rich oil deposits in Saudi Arabia developed by Western interests made him rich but brought trouble with anti-Western neighbors, such as Egypt. Almost blind, Saud gave Faisal partial power in 1958 but resumed control in 1960. In 1964 Faisal deposed and succeeded Saud, who went into exile. He died in Athens on Feburary 23, 1969.
He succeeded to the throne on Nov. 9, 1953, as an absolute monarch, restricted only by the authority of Muslim holy law.
King Saud had announced to the new Council of Ministers in his very first speech as King, that, while his father’s reign was noted for military conquests, he intended his reign to be “a war on poverty, ignorance and disease with the equitable application of the dictates of the holy ‘Shariah’ laws to all without exception, and the creation of a strong army”. He was to make a sincere attempt throughout his reign, to see to it that, Government policy planned and worked towards the realisation of these goals in the shortest time-span possible, no easy task, particularly given the local and regional circumstances.
Quotes from others about the person
He was described as "although not as large as his illustrious father, King Saud is about six feet two inches in height and weighs well over two hundred pounds. Like his father, he has weak eyes, but he has also inherited Ibn Saud's magnetic smile and a keen sense of humor, which wins him many friends. "
Saud had 115 children and multiple wives.
