King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The late king was born in Riyadh in 1923, at a propitious time when his father, King Abdul Aziz (Ibn Saud), was completing his unification of the land that was to be the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the land which sixty years later would be ruled by King Fahd.


By all accounts, the relationship between Prince Fahd and his father was a close one. Clearly, as Prince Fahd observed in his father the qualities that had enabled him to unite the fractious tribes of the Arabian Peninsula into a united country (the Kingdom was formally founded in 1932 when Prince Fahd was 9 years old), so King Abdul Aziz evidently discerned in his son the potential for leadership.

The young Prince Fahd must therefore be given the best education the new Kingdom could at that time offer. King Abdul Aziz was determined to ensure that Prince Fahd should be fully versed in the Holy Scriptures of Islam, and in Arab history and culture.

Prince Fahd's first formal schooling was at the Princes' School in Riyadh, a school established by his father to ensure that his own sons and the children of other leading citizens were well equipped for the challenges that lay ahead. At the Princes' School, Prince Fahd was tutored by men such as Ahmed Al Arabi and Sheikh Abdul-Ghani Khayat.

After completing his time at the Princes' School, Prince Fahd then attended the Religious Knowledge Institute in the Holy City of Makkah where he received further instruction from the most eminent Islamic scholars in the Kingdom.

Prince Fahd's first official visit outside the Kingdom was to attend the inauguration of the United Nations in New York in 1945, as part of the Saudi delegation led by the then Foreign Minister, later King, Faisal.

At the age of 30, in 1953, Prince Fahd was appointed as the Kingdom's first Education Minister which is where the story told in this resource begins. It was to be another thirty years before Prince Fahd became King but a summary of some of his duties in the intervening period shows that, by the time his reign began, he had a rich and varied experience of government, politics and diplomacy both at national and international level.

24th October, 1945
Prince Fahd member of Saudi delegation at signing of UN charter

1953
Prince Fahd appointed first Minister of Education and charged with establishing a nationwide educational system

1953
Prince Fahd leads Saudi delegation to coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

1959
Prince Fahd heads Saudi delegation to 33rd session of League of Arab States in Casablanca, Morocco

1962
Prince Fahd appointed Minister of the Interior

1965
Prince Fahd represents Saudi Arabia at meeting of Arab Heads of State in Cairo, Egypt

1967
Prince Fahd appointed Second Deputy Prime Minister

1967
Prince Fahd visits France and meets with former President de Gaulle

1970
Kingdom's first Five-Year Plan launched

1970
Prince Fahd leads Saudi delegation in talks with Britain on future of Arabian Gulf

1974
Prince Fahd makes first official visit to Washington. Saudi US joint Commission on Economic Cooperation set up

1975
Prince Fahd attends OPEC Summit in Algeria

1975
Prince Fahd makes second visit to France

25th March, 1975
Khalid becomes King on the death of King Faisal

1975
Prince Fahd becomes Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister

1975
Kingdom's second Five-Year Plan launched

19th May, 1977
Crown Prince Fahd hosts talks with President Assad of Syria and President Sadat of Egypt in Riyadh

23rd May, 1977
Crown Prince Fahd visits US to discuss Middle East peace plan with President Jimmy Carter

March, 1979
Crown Prince Fahd leads Saudi delegation to Arab Summit in Baghdad

1980
Kingdom's third Five-Year Plan launched

August, 1981
Fahd Plan for resolution of Arab Israeli conflict published

November, 1981
Fahd Plan is formally presented at the Arab Summit in Fez

1981
Crown Prince Fahd leads Saudi delegation to North South Conference in Cancun, Mexico 2005
King Fahd life ended in 2005