Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1931 - 2011) is one of the sons of the Founder King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud. He served as Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister during the reign of his brother, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Additionally, he held the positions of Minister of Defense and Aviation (currently the Ministry of Defense), as well as Inspector General during the reigns of his brothers King Faisal, King Khalid, King Fahd, and King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.He participated in numerous official foreign delegations representing the Kingdom. He is one of the well-known figures in the field of humanitarian and charitable work.

Prince Sultan was born in the city of Riyadh, and he was raised under the care of his father, King Abdulaziz. He studied the Holy Quran and the Arabic language under the guidance of prominent religious scholars in the Kingdom. His knowledge expanded through extensive reading and studying, particularly in the field of diplomacy, in addition to frequent travels throughout his life.

He participated in many official delegations representing the Kingdom, led by King Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to attend sessions of the United Nations General Assembly and Arab and Islamic summit conferences. Additionally, he chaired several official delegations during foreign visits, including leading the Saudi delegation in the celebrations of the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations in 1985 and the fiftieth anniversary in 1995.

One of the prominent Saudi delegations led by Prince Sultan was the delegation of the Kingdom participating in the high-level General Assembly meeting of the United Nations held at the organization's headquarters in New York in 2005, on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of its establishment. Additionally, he chaired the Saudi delegation at the third OPEC summit held in the capital, Riyadh, in 2007.

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz held several positions that he began to assume during his father's reign. He was appointed the Emir of Riyadh in 1947. Additionally, he served as the Minister of Agriculture in 1953, then as the Minister of Communications in 1955, and later as the Minister of Defense and Aviation in 1962.

A Royal Order was issued in 1982 appointing Prince Sultan as the second deputy to the Prime Minister, in addition to his previous responsibilities as the Minister of Defense and Aviation and the Inspector General. In 2005, he was appointed as the Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister, while retaining his responsibilities as the Minister of Defense and Aviation, and the Inspector General.

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz chaired several committees and councils directly or on behalf of others, including chairing the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabian Airlines, the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Military Industries, the Supreme Committee for Economic Balance, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and the General Authority of Civil Aviation, the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabian Airlines, the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Military Industries, the Supreme Committee for Economic Balance, the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, and the Board of Directors of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development. He also served as the Supreme Chairman of the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Charity Foundation.

Among the committees chaired by Prince Sultan, there were the Ministerial Committee for Environment, the Special Committee in the Council of Ministers, the Supreme Committee for Education Policy, and the Ministerial Committee for Administrative Organization. He also chaired the Board of Directors of the Global Arabic Encyclopedia and the Board of Directors of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. He served as the chairman of the Saudi Strategic Storage Program and the head of the Saudi side in the Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council, the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council, as well as the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Supreme Commission for Tourism and the Supreme Workforce Council.

Prince Sultan also served as the Deputy to the Chairman of the Family Affairs Council, the Chairman of the National Security Council, the Chairman of the Supreme Commission for Investment, the Chairman of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, the Chairman of the Supreme Economic Council, the Chairman of the Supreme Council for Administrative Reform, and the Chairman of the Supreme Council for Petroleum and Minerals Affairs.

The Order of King Abdulaziz (First Class) is considered one of the most prominent decorations awarded to Prince Sultan in 1973. In addition, he received the National Order of Merit from France in the same year. He also received the Order of the Grand Cross from Italy in 1973, the National Order of Chad in 1972, the Order of the Lion of Senegal in 1972, the Order of the Unity of the Nation from Syria in 1975, and the Nile Sash from Egypt in 1976.

Among the decorations awarded to Prince Sultan are the Kuwait Order of the First Class Sash in 1976, the highest order in Niger in 1976, the Grand Cordon of the Liberator Simon Bolivar from Venezuela in 1976, and the Nishan-e-Pakistan in 1976 He was also awarded the Order of Honor from Sudan in 1976 and the highest order, the Order of the Auspicious Clouds, from the People's Republic of China in 1977.

Prince Sultan was also awarded the Bintang Mahaputera Utama Order from Indonesia in 1977, the Order of Mono as Grand Officer from Togo in 1978, the National Order of Merit as Grand Officer from Zaire in 1979, the Order of Muhammad (Second Class) from Morocco in 1979, and the Knight of the Grand Cross from Sweden in 1981.

Prince Sultan was also awarded the Knight of the State Order (First Class) from Malaysia in 1981, the Order of the Dannebrog (First Class) from Denmark in 1984, the Order of the Star of Palestine from Palestine in 1997, the Unity Medal of the First Class from Yemen in 2001, the Highest Humanitarian Honor from Sweden in 2007, and the Order of Charles III from Spain in 2008.

In recognition of Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz's efforts, he received several certificates from scientific and international institutions, including notable ones such as the First Arab Environmentalist Award in 1996, the Sheikh Rashid Award for Humanitarian Personality in 2002, the Peace and Environment Award from the Euro-Arab Cooperation Center in 2003, and an honorary doctoral degree from the Islamic University of Malaysia in 2000.

Britain's Cranfield University for Aerospace Sciences selected Prince Sultan as the Person of the Year for 2003, recognizing his contributions to both military and civil aviation, and presenting him with an honorary doctorate. He also received honorary doctorates from the University of Gezira in Sudan in 2001, Waseda University in Japan in 2006, the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in the Russian Federation in 2007, and King Saud University in Riyadh in 2008.

Prince Sultan devoted himself to humanitarian and charitable work at both domestic and international levels, organizing his efforts institutionally to ensure sustainability and proper management. Prominent entities he founded include the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Foundation, the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Committee for Relief, Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Humanitarian City,the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Medical and Educational Telecommunications Program (MeduNet),Sultan bin Abdulaziz Science and Technology Center (SciTech), and the Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Charitable Foundation for Housing.

In support of scientific advancement, Prince Sultan sponsored several scientific programs and chairs in various entities. Some of the notable ones include the Prince Sultan Chair for Health Awareness and Teacher Training at UNESCO, as well as other chairs at King Saud University in the fields of telecommunications and information technology, the field of contemporary Islamic studies, and the field of environment and wildlife, and chair for special needs at the same university. This comes in addition to the chair for the Prince Sultan International Prize for Water, along with other chairs at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah and Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University in the Eastern Province.

Prince Sultan also showed support for scientific programs abroad, including the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz Program in Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He also established a program for academic and cultural cooperation with the University of Oxford to provide scholarships for Saudi students in postgraduate studies in the field of humanities. Additionally, he supported the Arabic Language Support Program at UNESCO, the King Abdulaziz Center for Islamic Studies at Bologna University in Italy, the Special Education Program at the Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, and his Speech and Hearing Center in the Kingdom of Bahrain as well.

Due to the importance of scientific research in serving humanitarian fields, Prince Sultan supported research and scientific projects both domestically and internationally. This included his support for Prince Sultan University in Riyadh, research projects and centers for people with disabilities, research and treatment centers for heart diseases, Dar al-Hekma University for Girls in Jeddah, research on aging and dementia at King Saud University in Riyadh, as well as support for the Saudi School for Orphans in Pakistan and several girls' shelters in the Philippines.

Prince Sultan also supported the Wildlife Fund, the medical project 'Bakshigari' in Pakistan, the project for preparing a satellite image atlas for the Kingdom, the Cancer Treatment Center in Morocco, the Sultan Center for Endoscopic Surgery in Kosovo, the establishment of Rawdat al-Ajial schools in Palestine, and several projects in Egypt, Japan, Germany, and Geneva.