Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (عبد الله بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd, Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1 August 2005 until his death in 2015.

Abdullah is said to have been born on 1 August 1924 in Riyadh.

However, some sources state that this date is incorrect, and that he was approximately eight years older.

He was the tenth son of King Abdulaziz.

His mother, Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim, was a member of the Al Rashid dynasty, longtime rivals of the Al Saud dynasty.

She was descended from the powerful Shammar tribe and was the daughter of former tribe chief Asi bin Shuraim.

She died when Abdullah was six years old.

Abdullah had two younger full-sisters, Nouf and Seeta, and two maternal half-brothers, Abdulaziz and Mishaal, who were the children of his mother's first marriage to Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Rashid.

Madawi al-Rasheed argues that Abdullah's maternal roots and his earlier experience of a speech impediment led to delay in his rise to higher status among the sons of King Abdulaziz.

In 1961 he became mayor of Mecca, his first public office.

The following year, he was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a post he was still holding when he became king.

In August 1963, Abdullah was made commander of Saudi National Guard replacing Saad bin Saud, a son of King Saud, in the post.

This post allowed him to secure his position in the House of Saud.

SANG, which had been based on the Ikhwan, became a modern armed force under his command.

King Khalid appointed Abdullah as second deputy prime minister on 29 March 1975 just four days after his kingship which was a reflection of his status as second in the line of succession to the Saudi throne.

Therefore, he became the number three in the Saudi administration.

However, his appointment caused friction in the House of Saud.

Then-Crown Prince Fahd, together with his full-brothers, known as the Sudairi Seven, supported the appointment of their own full brother, Sultan.

Abdullah was pressured to cede control of SANG in return for his appointment as second deputy prime minister.

In August 1977, this generated a debate among hundreds of princes in Riyadh.

Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia since 13 June 1982.

He was the tenth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia.

Abdullah was the son of King Abdulaziz and Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim.

His mother was a member of the Al Rashid dynasty, historical rivals of the Al Saud dynasty.

Abdullah held important political posts throughout most of his adult life.

He also served as deputy defense minister and was named crown prince when his half-brother Fahd took the throne in 1982.

Beginning 1985, SANG also sponsored the Janadiriyah festival that institutionalized traditional folk dances, camel races and tribal heritage.

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

During his reign, Abdullah maintained close relations with the United States and the United Kingdom and bought billions of dollars worth of defense equipment from both states.

He also gave women the right to vote for municipal councils and to compete in the Olympics.

Abdullah maintained the status quo when there were waves of protest in the kingdom during the Arab Spring.

Abdullah had a longstanding relationship with Pakistan, and brokered a compromise between General Pervez Musharraf and ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif, whom he had requested to be exiled to Saudi Arabia for a 10-year exile following Sharif's ouster in the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état.

The three crown princes during Abdullah's reign were among the full brothers of King Fahd.

Upon becoming king in 2005, Abdullah appointed his half-brother Sultan bin Abdulaziz as crown prince.

When Sultan died in 2011, Sultan's full brother Nayef was named heir to the throne, but Nayef himself died the next year.

Abdullah then named Salman bin Abdulaziz as crown prince.

According to various reports, Abdullah married up to 30 times and had more than 35 children.

He was among the wealthiest royals in the world.

According to a 2013 BBC report, Saudi Arabia could obtain nuclear weapons at will from Pakistan during Abdullah's reign due to the close relations between the two countries.

Upon his death in 2015 at age 90, he was succeeded by his half-brother Salman.