In office 1978 – 5 November 2011 House House of Saud Successor Khalid bin Sultan Name Abdul-Rahman Abdulaziz | Monarch KhalidFahdAbdullah Cousins Al Jawhara Spouse Maha Al Ibrahim | |
Predecessor Turki II bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Siblings Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Salman of Saudi Arabia Children Sarah bint Abdulrahman Al Saud Parents Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, Ibn Saud Grandparents Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Similar People Ibn Saud, Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Salman of Saudi Arabia, Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Fahd of Saudi Arabia | ||
Abdul-Rahman bin Abdulaziz (عبد الرحمن بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, ʿAbd ar-Raḥman ibn ʿAbd l-ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd; 1931 – 13 July 2017) was a senior member of the House of Saud and Saudi Arabian deputy minister of defense and aviation.
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Early life and education
Abdul-Rahman was born in 1931 to Ibn Saud and Hassa Al Sudairi. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living member of the Sudairi Seven. Abdul-Rahman, the first of King Abdulaziz's sons to study in the West, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated from the California Military Academy.
Career
He was the counsellor for royal family affairs during the mid-1970s. Abdul-Rahman replaced his brother, Prince Turki II, as the kingdom's deputy minister of defense and aviation in 1978 when Turki resigned; before that, he was a businessman. He held the post until 5 November 2011. During the 1980s, when he was deputy minister, Abdul-Rahman reportedly provided food service to the ministry with his own company.
During Prince Sultan’s absence from the Kingdom for medical treatment, he increased his activity at the ministry. Abdul-Rahman was often described as becoming more irritable with age.
He was relieved from his post as deputy minister on 5 November 2011. According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Abdul-Rahman was dismissed by King Abdullah when, unhappy at being bypassed as crown prince in favor of Prince Nayef, he refused to declare allegiance to Nayef.
Succession
The prince was reportedly the only son of King Abdulaziz to oppose the 2007 formation of the Allegiance Council, despite support from nearly all sons of the king. The apparent reason for his protests was the fact that he was next in age, after Crown Prince Sultan; the new succession arrangement is based on merit, rather than age. Prince Salman, his younger brother and the referee in family disputes, reportedly met with Abdul-Rahman and told him to "shut up and get back to work".
Personal life
He was married to Maha Al Ibrahim, sister of King Fahd's wife Al Jawhara Al Ibrahim and Al Ibrahim's brothers (including Waleed Al Ibrahim). Abdul-Rahman's son-in-law is Nayef bin Sultan bin Fawwaz al-Shaalan.
Abdul-Rahman died on 13 July 2017 at the age of 86.