Who Was King Abdullah Of Saudi Arabia?

King Abdullah was born in 1924 and was crowned King of Saudi Arabia in 2005. He earned the throne after the death of King Fahd who was his half-brother. Abdullah, like Fahd, was one of the many sons of Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.  Abdullah had many political positions throughout most of his adult life; he became mayor of Mecca as a young man and in 1962 he was appointed commander of the National Guard.  He also served as deputy defense minister and was name crown prince when Fahd took the throne in 1982. Where Fahd was sometimes criticized for being too fond of western-style luxuries, Abdullah is always regarded as a devout Muslim and a charismatic leader.

After King Fahd suffered a fatal stroke in 1995, Abdullah became the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia until claiming the throne a decade later.

King Abdullah was born in Riyadh in 1924, and gets his first education at the royal court. Influenced by his father, father of the new modern kingdom king Abdul Aziz Al Saud, he developed a profound respect for his religion Islam, history and the Arab heritage. His years spent living in the desert of Arab with Bedouin tribes taught him their values of honor respects, simplicity, bravery, generosity and instilled in him the desire to do or assist in the development of Saudi.

The king Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz was proclaimed the sixth king of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on August 1, 2005, after the death of custodian of the two holy mosques king, Fahad bin Abdul Aziz. Custodian of the two holy mosques king Abdullah is also prime minister of the council of national ministers and commander of the Saudi Guard.

As chief of Saudi delegations, the king Abdullah addressed too many conferences anywhere in Saudia, such as the summit meeting of the organizations of the Islamic republic conference (OIC) in Malaysia in October, 2002; the Arab-U.S. summit in Sharm Al-Sheikh in June, 2002; and the summit of the super league of Arab States in Beirut in March 2001.