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August 2, 2005 |
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THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES KING ABDULLAH IBN ABDUL AZIZ'S CURRICULUM VITAE AND ACHIEVEMENTS. THE CV AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ, CROWN PRINCE AND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz issued on Monday a royal order stating that all Cabinet current members continue with their posts under his chairmanship. The order also appointed Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Crown Prince, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General as Deputy Prime Minister. The Royal Family pledged allegiance to Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz as the King of the Kingdom according to the fifth article of the statute. Following is the Curriculum Vitae of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz. He was born in Riyadh, 1924. His first instructor was his father the Late King Abdul Aziz Ibn Abdul Rahman Al Saud, the founder of the Kingdom. At his father's school, he received his experiences in the fields of government, politics, administration and leadership. Influenced by his father, founder of the modern Kingdom King Abdul Aziz Al Saud, he developed a profound respect for religion, history and the Arab heritage. His years spent living in the desert with Bedouin tribes taught him their values of honor, simplicity, generosity and bravery, and instilled in him the desire to assist in the development of his people. He also received his learning from senior religious scholars and thinkers. King Abdullah has also received his culture from various readings of books. He viewed reading as a method of understanding the era of the culture, theories and sciences. In view of his interest in reading, he has established King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh and its sister library in Casablanca, Morocco. King Abdullah also established in 1405 the National Festival of Heritage and Culture held annually in Janadriyyah. The monarch's hobbies include reading, love of desert and horse-riding. He has founded the Equestrian Club in Riyadh. King Abdullah has assumed the following posts: - Commander of the National Guard in 1962; - Second Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard in 1975; -Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard in 1982; - Chairman of the Family Council; -Chairman of the Economic Supreme Council; - Deputy Chairman of Supreme Council for Petroleum and Minerals Affairs; -Chairman of Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Foundation for His Parents for Developmental Housing; - Chairman of King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for the Gifted; - Chairman of the Equestrian Club. As for his contributions at the Arab, Islamic and international arenas, he has been greatly interested in Arab and Muslims' affairs and has been keen on their unity. He believed that Islam is a strong pillar of the unity of Arab and Muslim nations. To contain differences and to achieve rapprochement, he has visited all Arab countries and some Islamic nations. He has also provided all possible assistance for them. King Abdullah has also visited many friendly countries to enhance the Kingdom's relations with them and headed the Kingdom's delegations to some summits and a number of regional and international conferences. As Crown Prince, he travelled widely throughout the Kingdom. During the course of 2004, he inaugurated a number of projects not only in the capital city of Riyadh, but in Makkah and in Taif, as well as in the Eastern Province. Always mindful of the interests of the people, in 2005 he closely monitored the ongoing election process for the country's municipal councils. Crown Prince Abdullah's State visits overseas include France in 2005, Austria in 2004, Russia in 2003, and Germany in 2001, in addition to travels within the Arab and Islamic worlds. In 2000, following the United Nations Millennium Summit in New York, he traveled to Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela; and in 1998, in a world tour that included the United States, he visited Britain, France, China, Japan, South Korea, and Pakistan. As head of Saudi delegations, Crown Prince Abdullah addressed many conferences, such as the Summit meeting of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) in Malaysia in October, 2003; the Arab-U.S. Summit in Sharm Al-Shaikh in June , 2003; and the Summit of the League of Arab States in Beirut in March 2002. His participation in this international diplomacy reflects the Kingdom's leadership role in defense of Arab and Islamic issues and for the achievement of world peace, stability and security. Peace in the Middle East and the plight of the Palestinians are of particular concern to him, and the initiative on these that he presented at the Beirut Arab Summit in 2002 has been adopted by the League of Arab States, as has his forward-looking strategy for a unified Arab stance on international issues. On the issue of terrorism, King Abdullah has been unwavering in his condemnation of the taking of innocent lives, and in his denunciation of deviant groups that falsely claim to be Islamic. At the Counter-Terrorism International Conference in Riyadh in February, 2005, he urged international cooperation to fight this global scourge. Throughout his life, King Abdullah has retained a love of the desert, along with a love of horsemanship. He is a breeder of pure Arabian horses, and founder of the equestrian club in Riyadh. Another life-long passion is reading, to which he attributes great importance. He has established two libraries, the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh, and one in Casablanca , Morocco. In 1962, Prince Abdullah was chosen by King Faisal to command the National Guard, which was formed from descendents of those who were King Abdulaziz' followers. The National Guard and its Commander are renowned for their efforts to preserve and celebrate the country's cultural heritage. The National Heritage and Culture Festival, established in 1985 and held at Jenadriyah each year, is a major part of these efforts. While maintaining charge over the National Guard, Prince Abdullah was appointed Second Deputy Prime Minister in 1975 on the succession of King Khalid, and when King Fahd came to the throne in 1982, he was named Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister. In the latter capacity, he presides over cabinet meetings and governs the country as deputy to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The King's first official visit to the United States was as Prince Abdullah in 1976, when he met with President Gerald Ford. His second visit was in October 1987, as Crown Prince, when he met with President George H.W. Bush before attending the Arab summit in Amman. In September 1998, Crown Prince Abdullah made a state visit to the United States, meeting in Washington, DC with President Bill Clinton and top American officials. He met again with President Clinton in September 2000 while attending the Millennium event at the United Nations in New York. On April 25, 2002, and again on April 25, 2005, Crown Prince Abdullah was received by President George W. Bush at the presidential ranch in Crawford, Texas. Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz His Royal Highness Prince Sultan was born in Riyadh in 1928, and received his early education in religion, modern culture and diplomacy along with his brothers at the royal court. Prince Sultan was appointed Governor of Riyadh in 1947. Much of his time, however, was taken up in assisting his father in the setting up of a national administrative system based on justice and the implementation of Islamic Shari'ah law. When the Council of Ministers was formed in 1953, Prince Sultan became the Kingdom's first Minister of Agriculture. In that capacity he helped set up a project for resettling nomadic tribes. Two years later, he became Minister of Communications, and contributed greatly to the development of the Kingdom's roads and telecommunications network. Prince Sultan supervised the construction of the only railway system on the Arabian Peninsula, connecting Dammam with Riyadh; he is currently Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Government Railways Organization. Prince Sultan was appointed Minister of Defense and Aviation in 1963. Since that time he has helped establish the modern Saudi Arabian armed forces, including land, air, naval and air defense forces. He has presided over the construction of military cities throughout the Kingdom. In addition, Prince Sultan is Chairman of the Board of the Kingdom's national airline, renamed 'Saudi Arabian Airlines' in 1996. On the succession of King Fahd in 1982, Prince Sultan was named Second Deputy Prime Minister. Prince Sultan has also served as Chairman of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD), an organization which he founded in 1986 to promote the protection of the nation's indigenous wildlife. In addition, Prince Sultan is Chairman of the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs, a recently-formed organization dedicated to the service of Muslims and Muslim minorities throughout the world. Another recent organization is the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Charity Foundation , which was established in 1995 to provide social services and health care for the elderly and comprehensive rehabilitation programs for the disabled. Prince Sultan has chaired, or currently chairs, various committees, including the Supreme Committee for Education Policy, Council of Manpower, Ministerial Committee on Environment, Board of the General Enterprise of Military Industries and the Higher Committee of the Offset Program. Prince Sultan has conducted official visits to Arab and Muslim countries, and to nations around the world, meeting with heads-of-state and officials. He led the Saudi delegation to the 40 th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1985 and also to the 50 th anniversary of the organization in 1995. During his official visit to the United States in 1995, Prince Sultan met with President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, and then-Defense Secretary William Perry. Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz was Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 1982 to 2005. He was designated Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister on August 1, 2005, by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on the death of King Fahd. |
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