Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
ولي عهد المملكة العربية السعودية
Standard of the Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
Incumbent
Mohammed bin Salman
since 21 June 2017
StyleHis Royal Highness
AppointerThe King
with approval of the Allegiance Council
Term lengthAt the King's pleasure or until accession as King
Inaugural holderSaud bin Abdulaziz
Formation11 May 1933
Websitehttps://houseofsaud.com/

The crown prince of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: ولي عهد المملكة العربية السعودية) is the second-most important position in Saudi Arabia, second to the King, and is his designated successor. Currently, the Crown Prince assumes power with the approval of the Allegiance Council after he is nominated by the King. This system was introduced to the country during the reign of King Abdullah. In the absence of the King, an order is issued to have the Crown Prince manage the affairs of the state until the King's return.

Styles of the Crown Prince

Styles of
The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
Reference styleHis Royal Highness
Spoken styleYour Royal Highness

The Crown Prince is referred to as His Royal Highness and then Sir from there after.

History of the crown prince position

The last crown prince of the Second Saudi State was Abdulaziz, who lost the title when Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, his father, lost his state after the Rashidis conquered Riyadh in 1890.[1] The Al Sauds went into exile and took refuge in multiple Arab states of the Persian Gulf[2][3] for nearly a decade.[2] After the defeat at the battle of Sarif in 1900, Abdul Rahman bin Faisal gave up all ambitions to recover his patrimony.[4] Despite this, Abdulaziz and his relatives remained determined to regain Nejd. Throughout the early 1900s, the Al Sauds went on multiple raiding expeditions and wars of conquest to attempt to regain Nejd from the Rashidis.[5] Their efforts were highly successful, and as a result, they successfully formed the third Saudi state.[6][7] When Abdulaziz had taken enough land to become recognized as an Emir, he designated his eldest son Turki as his heir. When Turki died during the flu pandemic of 1919, Abdulaziz designated his second son Saud to be heir and further succession would be brother to brother. The Al Sauds went on to expand their borders out of Nejd and established multiple iterations of the third Saudi state. In 1932, after Abdulaziz administered the Nejd and Hejaz as two separate states, he unified them and formed Saudi Arabia.[8] Abdulaziz declared himself king, and designated Saud, one of his sons, as crown prince.

When King Abdulaziz discussed succession before his death, he was seen to favor Prince Faisal as a possible successor over crown prince Saud due to Faisal's extensive knowledge from years of experience. Many years before, King Abdulaziz recognized Faisal as the most brilliant of his sons and gave him multiple responsibilities in war and diplomacy. "I only wish I had three Faisals", King Abdulaziz once said when discussing who would succeed him.[9] However, King Abdulaziz made the decision to keep Prince Saud as crown prince. His last words to his two sons, the future King Saud and the next in line Prince Faisal, who were already battling each other, were "You are brothers, unite!"[10] Shortly before his death, King Abdulaziz stated, "Verily, my children and my possessions are my enemies."[11]

A fierce power struggle between Abdulaziz's most senior sons, Saud and Faisal, erupted immediately after Abdulaziz's death. Faisal was declared the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia in 1954, but had limited powers. Soon after, Saudi Arabia began having financial issues and debt as a result of Saud's disastrous policies.[12] Saud was often associated among other things with the plundering of oil revenues, luxurious palaces, and conspiracy inside and outside of Saudi Arabia while Faisal was associated with sobriety, piety, puritanism, thriftiness, and modernization.[13] As the severity of the issues in Saudi Arabia became much worse, the House of Saud forced King Saud to delegate most of his executive powers to Faisal in 1958. However, Faisal was still unable to use his powers as Saud continued to block them, which prompted Faisal to resign. As Saud continued to handle general affairs ineptly, he was bringing Saudi Arabia to the brink of collapse. On 4 March 1964, Faisal and his brothers launched a bloodless coup d'état against Saud. Faisal was made regent, and Saud remained King as a purely ceremonial role. In November, the ulema, cabinet and senior members of the ruling family forced Saud to abdicate altogether, and Faisal became king in his own right.[14][15][16] On 6 January 1965, Saud went to the palace with his uncle Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman to declare his allegiance to King Faisal.[17]

The next in line, Prince Mohammed, was crown prince for a short time but disclaimed that title in favour of Prince Khalid in 1965.

Shortly after King Faisal was assassinated by his nephew, Khalid became the King of Saudi Arabia and Fahd became the crown prince. During Khalid and Fahd's reigns, both adopted conservative Islamic policies after the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure.[18] When King Fahd had a stroke in 1995, crown prince Abdullah became the formal Regent for the remainder of Fahd's reign. When Abdullah became King, he began to modernize Saudi Arabia. He allowed women the right to vote and to work in government positions.[19] Abdullah also created the Allegiance Council, a body that is composed of the sons and grandsons of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdulaziz, to vote by a secret ballot to choose future kings and crown princes.

As the nation became a gerontocracy in the 2000s and early 2010s, three crown princes died of old age in rapid succession.[20] In the meantime, more and more princes were passed over. In January 2015, King Abdulaziz's last son, Muqrin, became crown prince, only to be ousted three months later in favour of his nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef. Mohammed bin Nayef, the first grandson of King Abdulaziz to hold the title, was himself removed in June 2017 by Mohammad bin Salman, another grandson of King Abdulaziz.[21][22][23]

Crown Princes of Saudi Arabia (1933–present)

NameLifespanReign startReign endNotesFamilyImage
Saud bin Abdulaziz
  • سعود
(1902-01-15)15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969(1969-02-23) (aged 67)11 May 19339 November 1953
(became king)		Son of Ibn Saud and Wadhah bint Muhammad bin 'AqabSaudSaud of Saudi Arabia
Faisal bin Abdulaziz
  • فيصل
(1906-04-14)14 April 1906 – 25 March 1975(1975-03-25) (aged 68)9 November 19532 November 1964
(became king)		Son of Ibn Saud and Tarfa bint Abduallah bin Abdulateef al SheekhSaudFaisal of Saudi Arabia
Muhammad bin Abdulaziz
  • محمد
(1910-03-04)4 March 1910 – 25 November 1988(1988-11-25) (aged 78)2 November 196429 March 1965
(resigned)		Son of Ibn Saud and Al Jawhara bint Musaed bin JiluwiSaudMuhammad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Khalid bin Abdulaziz
  • خالد
(1913-02-13)13 February 1913 – 13 June 1982(1982-06-13) (aged 69)29 March 196525 March 1975
(became king)		Son of Ibn Saud and Al Jawhara bint Musaed bin JiluwiSaudKhalid of Saudi Arabia
Fahd bin Abdulaziz
  • فهد
(1921-03-16)16 March 1921 – 1 August 2005(2005-08-01) (aged 84)25 March 197513 June 1982
(became king)		Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al SudairiSaudFahd of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
  • عبد الله
(1924-08-01)1 August 1924 – 22 January 2015(2015-01-22) (aged 90)13 June 19821 August 2005
(became king)		Son of Ibn Saud and Fahda bint Asi Al ShuraimSaudAbdullah of Saudi Arabia
Sultan bin Abdulaziz
  • سلطان
(1931-08-01)1 August 1931 – 22 October 2011(2011-10-22) (aged 80)1 August 200522 October 2011
(died in office)		Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al SudairiSaudSultan bin Abdulaziz
Nayef bin Abdulaziz
  • نايف
(1934-08-23)23 August 1934 – 16 June 2012(2012-06-16) (aged 77)22 October 201116 June 2012
(died in office)		Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al SudairiSaudNayef bin Abdulaziz
Salman bin Abdulaziz
  • سلمان
 (1935-12-31) 31 December 193516 June 201223 January 2015
(became king)		Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al SudairiSaudSalman bin Abdulaziz
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
  • مقرن
 (1945-09-15) 15 September 194523 January 201529 April 2015
(resigned)		Son of Ibn Saud and Baraka Al YamaniyahSaudMuqrin bin Abdulaziz
Muhammad bin Nayef
  • محمد بن نايف
 (1959-08-30) 30 August 195929 April 201521 June 2017
(deposed)		Son of Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz and Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jiluwi Al SaudSaudMuhammad bin Naif
Mohammed bin Salman
  • محمد بن سلمان
 (1985-08-31) 31 August 198521 June 2017IncumbentSon of King Salman and Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan Al Hithalayn Al AjmiSaud

History of the second deputy prime minister position

The honorific title of "Second Deputy Prime Minister" goes back to 1967, in order to designate who was the senior prince not excluded from the throne. The position was created by King Faisal.

In March 1965, under pressure from King Faisal and the House of Saud, crown prince Mohammed stepped down as apparent to the Saudi throne. Mohammed was known to have temper issues and drinking problems.[24][25][26] As a result, King Faisal installed Prince Khalid as crown prince. However, he was reluctant to accept the offer of King Faisal to be named crown prince several times until March 1965. In addition, Khalid asked King Faisal to remove him from the position various times. One of the speculations about Prince Khalid's selection as heir designate was his lack of predilection for politics. In short, by selecting him as heir designate the royal family could create an intra-familial consensus.[27] In 1967, crown prince Khalid expressed his desire not to preside over the Council of Ministers against King Faisal's request which led to the appointment of Prince Fahd as second deputy prime minister with the task of leading the Council meetings.[28] Prince Saad and Prince Nasir, who were older than Fahd, were set aside from the throne due to being less experienced.[29]

When King Faisal was assassinated in 1975, King Khalid designated Prince Fahd as crown prince and Prince Abdullah as second deputy prime minister.

As King Khalid became ill with old age, the question of who would succeed Abdullah as the second deputy prime minister became more pressing. Prince Abdullah was succeeded by Prince Sultan as de facto Deputy Prime Ministers of The Kingdom.

Second Deputy Prime Ministers of Saudi Arabia (1967–2011)

NameLifespanReign startReign endNotesFamilyImage
Fahd bin Abdulaziz
  • فهد
(1921-03-16)16 March 1921 – 1 August 2005(2005-08-01) (aged 84)196725 March 1975
(became crown prince)		Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al SudairiSaudFahd of Saudi Arabia
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz
  • عبد الله
(1924-08-01)1 August 1924 – 22 January 2015(2015-01-22) (aged 90)25 March 197513 June 1982
(became crown prince)		Son of Ibn Saud and Fahda bint Asi Al ShuraimSaudAbdullah of Saudi Arabia
Sultan bin Abdulaziz
  • سلطان
(1931-08-01)1 August 1931 – 22 October 2011(2011-10-22) (aged 80)13 June 19821 August 2005
(became crown prince)		Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al SudairiSaudSultan bin Abdulaziz
Nayef bin Abdulaziz
  • نايف
(1934-08-23)23 August 1934 – 16 June 2012(2012-06-16) (aged 77)1 August 200522 October 2011
(became crown prince)		Son of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al SudairiSaudNayef bin Abdulaziz

History of the deputy crown prince position

The honorific title of "Deputy Crown Prince" dates back from 2014. The position was created by King Abdullah. Muqrin bin Abdul'aziz Al Saud was the first prince to hold the deputy crown prince position. Since 21 June 2017, the post of deputy crown prince has been vacant. Till this day, no man who has served as Deputy Crown Prince has ever become King.

Deputy Crown Princes of Saudi Arabia (2014–2017)

NameLifespanReign startReign endNotesFamilyImage
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
  • مقرن
 (1945-09-15) 15 September 194527 March 201423 January 2015
(became crown prince)		Son of Ibn Saud and Baraka Al YamaniyahAl SaudMuqrin bin Abdulaziz
Muhammad bin Nayef
  • محمد بن نايف
 (1959-08-30) 30 August 195923 January 201529 April 2015
(became crown prince)		Son of Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz and Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jiluwi Al SaudAl SaudMohammed bin Salman
Mohammed bin Salman
  • محمد بن سلمان
 (1985-08-31) 31 August 198529 April 201521 June 2017
(became crown prince)		Son of King Salman and Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan Al Hithalayn Al AjmiAl SaudMohammed bin Salman

Royal Standard

The Royal Flag of the crown prince consists of a green flag, with an Arabic inscription and a sword featured in white, and with the national emblem embroidered in silver threads in the lower right canton.

Royal Flag of the Crown Prince Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag

The script on the flag is written in the Thuluth script. It is the shahada or Islamic declaration of faith:

لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله
lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muḥammadu rasūlu-llāh
There is no other god but Allah, Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.[30]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Wallace Stegner (2007). "Discovery! The Search for Arabian Oil" (PDF). Selwa Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 Mohammad Zaid Al Kahtani (December 2004). "The Foreign Policy of King Abdulaziz" (PDF). University of Leeds. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Joel Carmichael (July 1942). "Prince of Arabs". Foreign Affairs (July 1942).
  4. ↑ H. St. John Philby (1955). Saʻudi Arabia. London: Ernest Benn. p. 236. OCLC 781827671.
  5. ↑ William Ochsenwald (2004). The Middle East: A History. McGraw Hill. p. 697. ISBN 978-0-07-244233-5.
  6. ↑ Joseph Kostiner. (1993). The Making of Saudi Arabia, 1916–1936: From Chieftaincy to Monarchical State (Oxford University Press US), ISBN 0-19-507440-8, p. 104
  7. ↑ Clive Leatherdale (1983). Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925–1939: The Imperial Oasis. New York: Frank Cass and Company. ISBN 9780714632209.
  8. ↑ Odah Sultan (1988). Saudi–American Relations 1968–78: A study in ambiguity (PDF) (PhD thesis). Salford University. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  9. ↑ Montgomery, Paul L. (26 March 1975). "Faisal, Rich and Powerful, Led Saudis into 20th Century and to Arab Forefront". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  10. ↑ Mai Yamani (January–March 2009). "From fragility to stability: a survival strategy for the Saudi monarchy" (PDF). Contemporary Arab Affairs. 2 (1): 90–105. doi:10.1080/17550910802576114. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 September 2013.
  11. ↑ Steffen Hertog (2007). "Shaping the Saudi state: Human agency's shifting role in the rentier state formation" (PDF). International Journal of Middle East Studies. 39 (4): 539–563. doi:10.1017/S0020743807071073. S2CID 145139112.
  12. ↑ M. Al Rasheed. (2002). A History of Saudi Arabia. Cambridge University Press; pp. 108–9
  13. ↑ Willard Beling (1979). King Faisal and the Modernisation of Saudi Arabia. Westview Press. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-0-367-02170-2.
  14. ↑ Vassiliev, Alexei, The History of Saudi Arabia, London, UK: Al Saqi Books, 1998, p. 366-7
  15. ↑ King Faisal, Encyclopedia of the Orient, http://lexicorient.com/e.o/faisal.htm Archived 12 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Retrieved 27 March 2007.
  16. ↑ Faisal Archived 1 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine at Encyclopedia Britannica
  17. ↑ Joseph Mann (2013). "King without a Kingdom: Deposed King Saud and his intrigues". Studia Orientalia Electronica. 1. Archived from the original on 12 July 2020.
  18. ↑ William Ochsenwald (August 1981). "Saudi Arabia and The Islamic Revival" (PDF). International Journal of Middle East Studies. 13 (3): 271–286. doi:10.1017/S0020743800053423. JSTOR 162837. S2CID 159997594.
  19. ↑ Saudi Arabia profile Archived 27 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine BBC
  20. ↑ Reed, Stanley; Hamdan, Sara (20 June 2012). "Aging of Saudi Royalty Brings Question of Succession to Fore". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  21. ↑ Chavez, Nicole; Qiblawi, Tamara; Griffiths, James. "Saudi Arabia's king replaces nephew with son as heir to throne". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 June 2017.
  22. ↑ Raghavan, Sudarsan; Fahim, Karim (21 June 2017). "Saudi king names son as new crown prince, upending the royal succession line". The Washington Post. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  23. ↑ "Saudi royal decrees announcing Prince Mohammed BinSalman as the new crown prince". www.thenational.ae. 21 June 2017. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
  24. ↑ Ayman Al Yassini (August 1982). The Relationship between Religion and State in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (PhD thesis). McGill University. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  25. ↑ Jafar Al Bakl (16 December 2014). "الفحولة وآل سعود... والشرف المراق على جوانبه الدم". Al Akhbar (in Arabic). Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  26. ↑ Donald S. Inbody (1984). "Saudi Arabia and the United States: Perception and Gulf security". Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School. p. 23. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  27. ↑ M. Ehsan Ahrari (1999). "Political succession in Saudi Arabia". Comparative Strategy. 18 (1): 13–29. doi:10.1080/01495939908403160.
  28. ↑ "Saudi Arabia" (PDF). Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. p. 77. Archived from the original (Country Readers Series) on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  29. ↑ Simon Henderson (1994). "After King Fahd" (PDF). Washington Institute. Archived from the original (Policy Paper) on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  30. ↑ "About Saudi Arabia: Facts and figures". The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington D.C. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
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