Saud of Saudi Arabia
King of Saudi Arabia
Died when: 67 years 9 days (804 months)Star Sign: Capricorn
Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: سعود بن عبد العزيز آل سعود Suʿūd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd, Najdi Arabic pronunciation: [saˈʕuːd ben ˈʕabd alʕaˈziːz ʔaːl saˈʕuːd]; 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia from 9 November 1953 to 2 November 1964.
During his reign, he served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1953 to 1954 and from 1960 to 1962.Prior to his ascension, Saud was the country's crown prince from 11 May 1933 to 9 November 1953.
He was the second son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, and the first of Abdulaziz's six sons who were kings. (Five more sons of Abdulaziz have since ruled the country: King Faisal, King Khalid, King Fahd, King Abdullah and King Salman.) Saud was the second son of King Abdulaziz and Wadha bint Muhammad Al Orair.
The death of Saud's elder brother, Prince Turki, in 1919 poised Saud to become his father's successor;King Abdulaziz appointed him as crown prince in 1933.
Saud served as a commander in Abdulaziz's conquests that led to the founding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932.
He was the viceroy of Nejd from 1926 to 1932, and he also represented his father in neighbouring countries.He played a role in the financial reforms of Saudi Arabia, preparing the first state budget in 1948 and establishing the Saudi Central Bank in 1952.
Saud also oversaw the country's infrastructural development.Upon his father's death in 1953, Saud ascended to the throne and reorganized the government.
He established the convention that the king of Saudi Arabia presides over the Council of Ministers.Saud sought to maintain friendly relations with the United States, whilst also supporting other Arab countries in their conflicts against Israel.
Under his reign, Saudi Arabia joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961.However, Saud's inability to counter the Saudi national debt brought him into a power struggle with his half-brother, Crown Prince Faisal, culminating in the forced abdication of Saud and the proclamation of Faisal as king.
Saud went into exile and made an attempt, supported by some of his sons, to take back the throne, but this was unsuccessful.
He died in Athens, Greece, in 1969.
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