Abdul-Rahman bin Abdulaziz

Abdul-Rahman bin Abdulaziz (عبد الرحمن بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, ʿAbd ar-Raḥman ibn ʿAbd l-ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd; 1931 – 13 July 2017) was senior member of the House of Saud and former Saudi Arabian deputy minister of defense and aviation.

Early life and education

Abdul Rahman was born in 1931 to Ibn Saud and Hassa Al Sudairi. As of 21 January 2017, he was the oldest living member of the Sudairi Seven. Abdul Rahman, the first of King Abdulaziz's sons to study in the West, received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Berkeleyand graduated from the California Military Academy.

Career

He was the counsellor for royal family affairs during the mid-1970s. Abdul Rahman replaced his brother, Prince Turki II, as the kingdom's deputy minister of defense and aviation in 1978 when Turki resigned; before that, he was a businessman. He held the post until 5 November 2011. During the 1980s, when he was deputy minister, Abdul Rahman reportedly provided food service to the ministry with his own company.

During Prince Sultan’s absence from the Kingdom for medical treatment, he increased his activity at the ministry. Abdul Rahman was often described as becoming more irritable with age.

He was relieved from his post as deputy minister on 5 November 2011. According to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, Abdul Rahman was dismissed by King Abdullah when, unhappy at being bypassed as crown prince in favor of Prince Nayef, he refused to declare allegiance to Nayef.

Succession

The prince was reportedly the only son of King Abdulaziz to oppose the 2007 formation of the Allegiance Council, despite support from nearly all sons of the king. The apparent reason for his protests was the fact that he was next in age, after Crown Prince Sultan; the new succession arrangement is based on merit, rather than age. Prince Salman, his younger brother and the referee in family disputes, reportedly met with Abdul Rahman and told him to "shut up and get back to work".

Personal life

He was married to Maha Al Ibrahim, sister of King Fahd's wife Al Jawhara Al Ibrahim and Al Ibrahim's brothers (including Waleed Al Ibrahim). Abdul Rahman's son-in-law is Nayef bin Sultan bin Fawwaz al-Shaalan.

He died on 13 July 2017.