Khalid of Saudi Arabia

Early life and education

Khalid was born in Qasr Al Hukm, Riyadh, on 13 February 1913. His mother, Al Jawhara bint Musaed, was from the important Al Jiluwi clan. She was a second cousin of Abdulaziz, their paternal grandfathers Jiluwi bin Turki and Faisal bin Turki being brothers. This was in keeping with long-standing traditions in Arabia of marriage within the same lineage, and members of Al Jiluwi frequently intermarried with the members of Al Saud.

Khalid had one full-brother, Muhammad. His full sister, Al Anoud, married to the sons of King Abdulaziz's brother Sa'ad bin Abdul Rahman. She first married Saud bin Sa'ad. After Saud died, she married Fahd bin Sa'ad. Khalid attended the Mufirej school founded by Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al Mufirej in 1879 based in the Sheikh Abdullah bin Abdul Latif Mosque in the Dukhna neighborhood of Riyadh. There he acquired basic literacy skills and studied arithmetics.

Early experience

Aged 14, Khalid was sent by Abdulaziz as his representative to the desert tribes to hear their concerns and problems. In 1928 he and his brother Muhammad were given the task of observing the Transjordan border during the Ikhwan revolt. Prince Khalid's preparation for ruling a modern state started through his visits with his brother Prince Faisal on foreign missions. He served as advisor to Faisal. Prince Khalid became an international figure due to his visits and service as a Saudi representative. He was more liberal in informing the press about the rationale behind foreign policy decisions.

Prince Khalid was made acting viceroy of Hejaz in early 1932 when his full brother Prince Muhammad carried out the task badly. The same year he was named as viceroy of Hejaz, replacing Prince Faisal in the post, who was named minister of foreign affairs, and Prince Khalid's term lasted until 1934. Prince Khalid joined the Saudi army led by his older brother Prince Faisal and fought against Yemeni forces in 1934. After the war, Prince Khalid served as the chairman of the Saudi delegation at the Taif Conference with Yemen in 1934. This was a diplomatic move that led to the Taif Treaty later that year which was signed by Prince Khalid on behalf of Saudi Arabia and Abdullah Al Wazeer on behalf of Yemen.

Prince Khalid was named interior minister in 1934 and was the Saudi representative at the peace negotiations in Yemen in 1935. In 1939, he participated in the St. James Conference on Palestine in London as the minister of interior as well as an assistant to Prince Faisal, head of the Saudi delegation.

In October 1943 Prince Faisal and Prince Khalid visited the United States representing their father, upon the July 1943 invitation of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The visit was the earliest high-level contact between Saudi Arabia and the US. Vice President Henry A. Wallace organized a dinner for them at the White House. They also met with President Roosevelt. They stayed at the official government guest house, Blair House, and visited the West Coast by a special train that was officially provided by the U.S. government. A foreign diplomat described Prince Khalid following the visit as the "nicest man in Saudi Arabia."

However, after this visit and during most of the 1950s Prince Khalid did not play a significant role in the government partly due to the fact that his half-brother Mansour bin Abdulaziz and his nephew Abdullah bin Faisal became much more dominant political figures. Prince Khalid reemerged as a significant figure in 1960 when King Saud named him acting prime minister. In addition, on 31 October 1962 he was appointed deputy prime minister in the new cabinet formed by Crown Prince Faisal. This move indicated his prominence in the line of succession. During the rivalry between Crown Prince Faisal and King Saud, Prince Khalid supported the former together with other princes who were members of the Al Jiluwi branch of Al Saud through maternal lineage or marriage. The group was led by Prince Muhammad, Prince Khalid and Prince Abdullah.

Crown prince

Khalid's older full-brother Prince Muhammad declined a place in the succession. Khalid also refused the offer of King Faisal to be named as crown prince several times until March 1965. In addition, he asked King Faisal to remove him from the position various times. However, the King persuaded Khalid that his presence as crown prince was necessary to keep peace within the House of Saud. 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 intra-familial consensus.

Khalid was named crown prince on 29 March 1965. King Faisal announced Khalid's appointment on the same day through a broadcast over Mecca Radio:Since the position of Crown Prince is a fundamental factor for the continuation and firmness of the reign, now the country enjoys stability, advancement and prosperity. Thanks to its adherence to Islam. It gives me great pleasure to announce...that I have chosen my brother Prince Khalid bin Abdulaziz as Crown Prince to rule after me.

Prince Khalid was also named first deputy prime minister following his appointment as crown prince. Although Joseph A. Kéchichian argues that Crown Prince Khalid was not active in daily issues, but acted as a representative during King Faisal's absences in meetings or ceremonies, he governed all organisational and executive powers of the Council of Ministers. He also dealt with the affairs of the Governorate of Mecca on behalf of King Faisal. However, in 1968 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.

In 1970 Crown Prince Khalid led Saudi delegations to Jordan to meet the needs of Palestinians who were seriously affected from Israel's attacks. According to the declassified US diplomatic documents of 1971, he enjoyed the support of the tribal chiefs, religious authorities and of Prince Abdullah, head of the Saudi National Guard, during this period.

Reign

Khalid succeeded to the throne on 25 March 1975 when King Faisal was assassinated. He was proclaimed king after a meeting of senior members of Al Saud: his uncle Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman and his brothers Muhammad, Nasser, Saad, Fahd, and Abdullah. The meeting occurred just hours after the assassination of King Faisal. Khalid also became the de facto prime minister of Saudi Arabia and the chairman of two significant councils, namely the Higher Council for Administrative Reform and the Supreme Council for National Security.

Although there are various reports stating that King Khalid was only a figurehead during his reign, he was in fact not a figurehead, but the final decision-maker on all major policy issues during his reign. King Faisal established a system in which the king was the final mediator in family problems. King Khalid reduced the power of the Sudairi Seven concerning succession in 1977 when he was in London for treatment. Following the unsuccessful attempt of the Sudairi Seven to overthrow King Khalid and to install one of their own, Prince Sultan, as deputy crown prince instead of Prince Abdullah, the King asked Crown Prince Fahd and Prince Abdullah to fully obey the existing succession plan without any change. King Khalid also closely checked the activities of Crown Prince Fahd due to the latter's clear support for the pro-Western policies and hostile tendency against Iran and Shia population of Saudi Arabia.

In addition, King Khalid was not an ineffective leader. Although he seemed to be reluctant to rule the country initially, he later warmed to the throne and displayed an apparent interest in improving the education, health-care and infrastructure of the country during his seven-year reign. During the first two years of his reign he was not active in politics due to his poor health condition, but later he became much more active as a result of his much better health.

King Khalid is also considered to have been a genial caretaker during his reign. However, he failed to monopolize power during his reign, leading to the empowerment of the princes who had been in powerful posts in late King Faisal's reign. He had some personal characteristics that made him a respected king. He was admired as an honest man who managed to have good relations with the traditional establishment of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, he was granted support by other princes and powerful forces of the country. Ghadah Alghunaim, a board member of the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue, argues in her doctoral dissertation that Khalid's reign was a golden era and the "era of goodness" for the country.

Domestic affairs

King Khalid's reign was of massive development in Saudi Arabia and therefore, the country became one of the richest countries in that the oil revenues became $40 billion in 1977 and $90 billion in 1980.

King Khalid primarily dealt with domestic affairs with special focus on agricultural development. The industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu were created during the early days of his reign. In 1975 the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu was founded to run the cities, and its first secretary general was Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki. Jeddah Port Authority was established in September 1976 to expand the capacity of the existing port. The number of schools increased during his reign. In 1975, there were 3,028 elementary schools, 649 secondary schools and 182 high schools. In 1980, there were 5,373 elementary, 1,377 secondary and 456 high schools. The other significant development in the field of education during his reign was the establishment of King Faisal University. The others were the Higher Education Center for Women which was opened in 1976 as well as colleges of medicine and pharmacology established specifically for female students.

Immediately following his ascension to the throne King Khalid issued a general amnesty which allowed the release of political prisoners who had been members of the left wing movements and the return of those who had been in exile to Saudi Arabia. Most of them were arrested during the reign of King Faisal.

In terms of administrative functions King Khalid followed the structure established by King Faisal in which both royals and non-royals occupied significant positions. The political power consolidation of the ruling family was intensified during his reign. However, King Khalid expanded the role of nonroyals in bureaucracy without diminishing the roles of royal family members. These non-royals were mostly graduates of foreign universities, and by 1977 ten of the thirty-six members in the council of ministers were those who received a master's or doctorate degree from Western universities.

The strict financial policies of King Faisal, coupled with the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis, created a financial windfall that fueled development and led to a commercial and economic boom in the country. Notable achievements in his reign included the institution of the second Five-Year Plan in 1975, which aimed to build up Saudi infrastructure and health care. The planned budget for the development plan was $142 billion. Although not all goals were achieved, the second development plan was much more successful than the first one. King Khalid also launched the Kingdom's third development plan with the budget of $250 billion in May 1980.

International relations

Although King Khalid did not have an extensive interest in foreign affairs as much as King Faisal had, his reign witnessed many important international events, including the Iranian Revolution, the assassination of Anwar Sadat and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, all of which had significant effects for Saudi Arabia. In addition, the Saudi government led by King Khalid was much more active in improving the relations of Saudi Arabia with neighbouring states in contrast to the reign of Faisal. His government was also much more moderate and less conservative in regard to the Arab–Israeli conflict than that of King Faisal. Kamal Adham was King Khalid's key counsellor on foreign policy during his reign from 1975 to 1982.

King Khalid initiated a move to bring in foreign labor to help with the country's development.

In April 1975, King Khalid's first diplomatic coup was the conclusion of a demarcation agreement concerning the Al Buraymi Oasis, where the frontiers of Abu Dhabi, Oman and Saudi Arabia meet. Claims and counterclaims over this frontier had exacerbated relations among them for years. Therefore, King Khalid aimed at settling this long-standing boundary disputes. The conclusion of negotiations under King Khalid added to his stature as a statesman. Between 21 and 23 April 1975 a high-level talk was held in Riyadh with the attendance of King Khalid, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad concerning the peace negotiations as a result of the conflict in the Sinai between Egypt and Israel.

Another significant event was the visit of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran to Riyadh on 28 April 1975. In June 1975, Saudi Arabia appointed an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, which also assigned an ambassador to Saudi Arabia the same date.

His first official visit as the King of Saudi Arabia was to Cairo, Egypt in mid-July 1975. The visit was an indication of Saudi Arabia's support of the initiatives of Anwar Sadat concerning peace settlement between the Arabs and Israel. King Khalid visited Damascus in December 1975 and met with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to discuss the ways to support Muslims in Lebanon, where a civil war began in April 1975. He declared the Saudi Arabia's support to Syria's role in the war.

Views

In June 1974 when he was Crown Prince Khalid argued that France taught the Syrians to be stubborn, and the British instilled the idea for the Arabs to differ with each other.

At the very beginning of his reign King Khalid stated "Islamic law is and will remain our standard, our source of inspiration, and our goal." and "We are against communism and we will protect ourselves against it by all means. If the United States pressed Israel into making a just peace settlement, Russia would not acquire a single foothold in the Middle East."

He questioned the support of the US administration to Greece instead of Turkey in late May 1976 citing Turkey's contributions in the Korean War during the 1950s. In an interview on BBC Summary of World Broadcasts he expressed the following views on Zionism, Communism and colonialism on 3 July 1979: "We regard Zionism, communism and colonialism as a trinity allied against Arab and Islamic rights and aspirations. Our policy is based on that understanding, and it is natural for us to be always subjected to biased and poisonous campaigns at the hand of that very trinity." Following the defeat of invaders of Grand Mosque King Khalid expressed the following: "if [Juhayman] al Otaibi and his cohorts had targeted palaces rather than the Grand Mosque [in their 1979 uprising] the results of the uprising might have been very different."

At the third summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Taif in January 1981 he declared non-alignment of Saudi Arabia concerning the tensions between the US and Soviet Union: "Our loyalty must be neither to an eastern bloc nor to a western bloc. The security of the Islamic nation will not be assured by joining a military alliance, nor by taking refuge under the umbrella of a superpower."

Personal life

King Khalid married four times and was the father of ten children. While the sequence in seniority of his wives is not known clearly, his wives were:

Latifa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi. Latifa was a daughter of King Abdulaziz's maternal uncle and Khalid was fifteen when he married her. They had no children.

Tarfa bint Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud. She was a daughter of his uncle, Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman. They had no children.

Noura bint Turki bin Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Turki Al Saud. She was the mother of Khalid's elder sons, Prince Bandar and Prince Abdullah and his elder daughter, Al Bandari. Noura bint Turki died at age 95 on 12 September 2011.

Seeta bint Fahd Al Damir had seven children with King Khalid: Al Jawhara, Fahd (died young), Nouf, Moudi, Hussa, Mishaal, and Faisal. She was from the Ujman tribe in Al Badiyah and was a niece of Wasmiyah Al Damir, wife of Abdullah bin Jiluwi. She died on 25 December 2012 at the age of 90.

Khalid had four sons and six daughters. Prince Bandar, the eldest son of King Khalid, was born in 1935. He was one of the members of Al Saud Family Council established by Crown Prince Abdullah in June 2000 to discuss private issues such as business activities of princes and marriages of princess to individuals who were not member of House of Saud. Prince Bandar died in Mecca in March 2018. His youngest child, Prince Faisal, is the former governor of Asir Province and a member of the Allegiance Council.

Khalid's eldest daughter, Princess Al Bandari, married her cousin Prince Badr, son of Prince Abdul Muhsin. Another of his daughters, Princess Hussa, married Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki, grandson of Turki I bin Abdulaziz. She died at the age of 59 in November 2010. Two of his daughters married the sons of Abdullah bin Faisal: Princess Al Jawhara married Khalid bin Abdullah Al Saud and has a son, Mohammed, and Princess Nouf married Mohammed bin Abdullah and has four children, including Noura.

Personality, pastimes and property

Khalid was described as warm, cheerful, attentive and devout and was adored by his sisters and brothers. An American journalist from Christian Science Monitor, John K. Cooley, following his observation of King Khalid at majlis stated that he carefully listened to his subjects showing his sense of humor and amused smile. During the first year of his rule King Khalid was said by his close observers to be an open and good man without any pretense representing the best example of Arab gentlemanly culture. His favourite topics to discuss at majlis with visitors were the problems related to education and youth.

Khalid had the capacity to settle conflicts which was first recognized by his father. It was the reason for sending him to Yemen in 1935 to handle the problems with local people. During his kingship Khalid acted as a mediator between the Sudairi brothers and Prince Abdullah although he was much closer to the latter.

Falconry and horse-riding were Khalid's favorite pastimes. He was described as a man of the desert. He had one of the best falcon collections. In the late 1970s King Khalid was given a rare Alberta-trained gyrfalcon by the Canadian government as a gift. Hunting was also one of his favorites, and he went to African countries to participate in hunting safaris when he was young. Khalid bought the first Toyota Landcruiser in 1955 for falconry. In December 1975 he bought the then longest Cadillac at 25 feet and 2 inches long again for falconry, and Time magazine called it "Khalidillac". In June 1974 while he was Crown Prince in a meeting with US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Khalid stated that he had been interested in hunting with hawks for forty years.

In the same meeting Kissinger asked him where he lived. In response he stated that he lived in Riyadh, but in the summer he stayed in Taif. King Khalid owned a desert farm outside Riyadh at Um Hamam. He bought Beechwood House in the north London suburb of Highgate for £1.9 million in March 1977 to use following two operations on his hip in the Wellington Hospital in London.

Health

When Khalid bin Abdulaziz was crown prince, he had a massive heart attack in 1970 and had a heart surgery in 1972 at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States. Since King Khalid suffered from heart ailment for a long period of time, Crown Prince Fahd was in charge of ruling the country. On 3 October 1978, he underwent a second heart surgery again in Cleveland. He also had a hip operation at Wellington Hospital in London in 1976. In February 1980, King Khalid had a minor heart attack.

Death and funeral

King Khalid died on 13 June 1982 due to a heart attack in his summer palace in Taif. On the same day his body was brought from Taif to Mecca. After funeral prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, King Khalid was buried in Al Oud cemetery in Riyadh. Leaders of Qatar, Kuwait, Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, participated in the funeral.

Legacy

King Khalid International Airport, King Khalid University, King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, King Khalid Military City and King Khalid Medical City in the Eastern province were all named after him. In Riyadh there is also a mosque named after him, King Khalid Grand Mosque, serving the Muslims since 1988. In Jeddah a bridge is named after King Khalid. There is a research center on wildlife in Saudi Arabia named after him, Khalid Wildlife Research Centre.

In addition, his family established King Khalid Foundation, which is being headed by his son, Abdullah bin Khalid. The foundation awards individuals who have achievements in the fields of corporate social responsibility, nonprofit management and social innovation.

Awards

In January 1981 King Khalid was awarded by the United Nations (UN) a gold medal which is the UN's highest decoration for the statesmen who significantly contributed to peace and cooperation worldwide. King Khalid also received the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam due to his efforts in support of Islamic solidarity in 1981.

Honours

Foreign honours

Indonesia:

First Class of the Star of the Republic of Indonesia (June 1975)

Malaysia:

Honorary Recipient of the Order of the Crown of the Realm (January 1982)

Spain:

Collar of the Order of Charles III (15 June 1981)

Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (15 February 1974)

Sweden:

Knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim (20 January 1981)

Taiwan:

Grand Cordon of the Order of Brilliant Jade (July 1977)