Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz

His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (born 1956) is the grandson of the Founding King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud and the second son of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. He serves as an advisor to the King and is the chairman of the Board of Trustees of the King Salman Foundation. Previously, he held the position of chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission (now the Saudi Space Agency). Notably, he is recognized as the first Arab Muslim astronaut.

Prince Sultan Bin Salman was born in Riyadh City and earned a master's degree in social and political sciences from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in the United States in 1999.

Prince Sultan Bin Salman has been a pilot since 1976, accumulating over eight thousand hours of flying time across various types of aircraft. In 1982, he earned air transport pilot certificates from the United States, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and France. In 1983, he worked as a researcher in the Foreign Media Department at the Ministry of Media. He also served as vice chairman of the Media Committee for the Los Angeles Olympic Games and, in 1984, was appointed director of the ministry's Media Department.

On June 17, 1985, he was chosen as a payload specialist for the Space Shuttle Discovery 51G STS, representing the Arab Satellite Communications Organization (Arabsat). He later joined the Royal Saudi Air Force as a fighter pilot and retired in 1996 with the rank of colonel. In 1988, he was elected chairman of the Board of Directors of the Children with Disabilities Association, serving as chairman of the Executive Committee from 1989 to 2010. In 1996, he was appointed chairman of Al-Turath Foundation.

In 2000, he was appointed secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (formerly), holding the rank of minister. He founded and has been the chairman of the Saudi Aviation Club (SAC) since 2001. He was a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) from 2005 to 2012, and has chaired the Board of Trustees of the King Salman Center for Disability Research (KSCDR) since 1992.

He served as chairman of the Advisory Council of the Supreme Commission for Tourism from 2001 to 2002, and was appointed secretary-general for the founding period from 2002 to 2008, with the rank of minister. He also chaired the National Tourism Development Strategy Preparation Committee. From 2011 to 2018, he was appointed chairman of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Cultural Heritage Program, and from 2008 to 2018, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (formerly).

Following the establishment of the Saudi Space Agency, Prince Sultan Bin Salman was appointed chairman of its Board of Directors on December 27, 2018, with the rank of minister. On May 3, 2021, he was appointed as an advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, by Royal Order.

Throughout his career, Prince Sultan Bin Salman participated in numerous conferences and forums both within Saudi Arabia and abroad. Notably, he served as chairman of the regulatory committee of the first conference of tourism ministers in Islamic countries (2003), chairman of the regulatory committee of the First National Conference on Architectural Heritage (2011), chairman of the regulatory committee of the Tourism and Antiquities Conference in AlUla (2013), chairman of the regulatory committee of the National Architectural Heritage Forum (2014), and chairman of the regulatory committee of the First Antiquities Forum of Saudi Arabia (2017).

Additionally, he chaired the organizing committee for the International Conference on Disability and Rehabilitation from 1992 to 2022.

Prince Sultan Bin Salman chaired and served as a member of several committees throughout his career. Notably, he served as chairman of the Strategic Steering Committee for National Tourism Development and the Five-Year Plan (2000-2003), chairman of the Steering Committee for the National Strategy for Antiquities and Museums (2006-2008), and chairman of the Steering Committee for Registering Heritage Sites in Saudi Arabia on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s World Heritage List (2008-2018).

Additionally, he was a member of the Supreme Committee for the Development of Taif (2011-2018). He founded and chaired the Prince Sultan Bin Salman Chair for Mosque Architecture at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University (2017). He also chaired the Supreme Supervisory Committee for Souq Okaz (2017-2018).

He has served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the King Salman Science Oasis since 2011 and was the chairman of the Board of Trustees for Abdullatif Al Fozan Awards for Mosque Architecture in 2013. He has also been the Honorary President of the Road Mosques Care Association since 2017.

He served as a member of the Supreme Committee for the Development of Historic Diriyah (2005-2017), the founding body of Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah History Center under the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) (2008-2018), and the Board of Directors of King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) (2012-2018). Additionally, he chaired the Social Responsibility Council at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce (2008-2010) and was a member of the Board of Trustees and chairman of the Executive Committee of the Princess Hessa Al-Sudairy Charitable Foundation (2011).

Prince Sultan Bin Salman has been honored with numerous orders and accolades in recognition of his contributions across various fields and his charitable endeavors. In 1985, he was awarded the King Abdulaziz Sash by King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. That same year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) presented him with the Space Flight Medal. In 2010, he received the Sheikh Fahad Al Ahmad Al Sabah International Charity Award.

In 2014, he was awarded the King Leopold Medal by order of King Philippe of Belgium for his role in strengthening Saudi-Belgian relations in the field of antiquities. In 2016, he received the Gulf Personality of the Year Award from the Gulf Cooperation Council for his humanitarian work in the field of disability, as well as the Arab Leadership Award in Caring for the Disabled from the Arab Hospitals Federation. In 2017, he earned the first global honor from the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Chengdu, China, for his contributions to advancing tourism, reshaping societal perceptions of tourism and heritage, and supporting UNWTO programs and initiatives.