Nayef bin Abdulaziz

Nayef bin Abdulaziz was born in Ta'if in 1934 to King Abdulaziz and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, making him one of the Sudairi Seven.

His full brothers included Fahd and Salman, who would both become kings of Saudi Arabia, and Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz (later crown prince of Saudi Arabia).

Nayef was the twenty-third son of King Abdulaziz.

Prince Nayef received education at Princes' School and from senior ulema (Muslim legal scholars).

Additionally, he was educated in diplomacy and security affairs.

From 1952 to 1953 Prince Nayef served as vice governor of Riyadh Province.

In 1953, he was appointed as the governor of Riyadh province and stayed in this post for one year.

He then served as governor of the Medina Region.

In 1970 King Faisal appointed him as both deputy interior minister and minister of state for internal affairs.

On 30 March 1975 following King Faisal's assassination, then Minister of Interior Prince Fahd became the crown prince, and Prince Nayef was appointed to the post by King Khalid.

In March 1980 King Khalid established a constitutional committee with eight members under the presidency of Prince Nayef.

However, the committee could not manage to produce the basic law that had been promised.

From 1992 Prince Nayef's influence increased over provincial governors through the Law of Provinces.

In December 1994, he ordered hundreds of terrorism-related arrests with the support of Prince Turki, head of Saudi intelligence services.

Prince Nayef established the General Directorate of Prisons in 2000 as a separate unit within the ministry.

In April 2001, he, not foreign minister Saud bin Faisal, went to Iran as Saudi envoy in an unprecedented move.

He issued all women in Saudi Arabia identity cards.

Women were previously registered under their husband's or father's name in November 2001.

After the September 11 attacks, as the man in charge of the Saudi investigation he received US criticism for his continuing to insist that the Saudi hijackers were dupes in a Zionist plot for over a year after 9/11, and for not undertaking sufficient action against extremists.

In 2003 Prince Nayef, who was in charge of foreign labor, decreed that foreign workers and their family members should not exceed 20 percent of the Saudi population in 2013.

Senator Charles Schumer lobbied through Prince Bandar to remove Prince Nayef as minister of interior in July 2003.

Between 2003 and 2006 he led Saudi Arabia's confrontation against Al Qaeda, which sponsored a series of domestic attacks on expatriate housing compounds, oil infrastructure, and industrial facilities.

His political stance was strengthened because of increased media exposure and the successful end to terrorist attacks.

Therefore, on 27 March 2009 Prince Nayef was made second deputy prime minister.

His appointment caused a public split in the royal family.

Prince Talal asked the King to clarify that the appointment did not necessarily mean that Nayef would become crown prince.

His appointment as second deputy prime minister expanded Prince Nayef's influence into all corners of Saudi domestic policy and allowed him to participate in the development of foreign policy.

He was not expected to interfere in economic matters, but to influence the judiciary.

Prince Nayef chaired many cabinet meetings when King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan were away for health reasons.

Critics said he was behind the cancellation of the nation's only film festival in the summer of 2009.

In November 2010 he undertook all Hajj-related responsibilities.

In some government offices, his picture was added next to King Abdulaziz, King Abdullah, and Crown Prince Sultan.

In March 2011 during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests 200 people who called for more information on their imprisoned relatives were denied a meeting with Nayef.

Since Crown Prince Sultan could not deal with demanding duties due to his extended absences for treatment and King Abdullah was about to travel to Doha to attend the League of Arab States Summit before going to London for the G20 summit, it was imperative to leave a senior official in charge, which added burdens to the leukemia-suffering 76-year-old Nayef.

Prince Nayef was appointed crown prince and first deputy prime minister by King Abdullah on 27 October 2011, five days after the death of Crown Prince Sultan.

Shortly thereafter he vowed that Saudi Arabia would "never sway from and never compromise on" its adherence to Wahhabi doctrine which he stated was "the source of the kingdom's pride, success and progress."

During his time as crown prince, Nayef brought about modernizations such as "removing religious authorities who objected to the mingling of men and women in public spaces."

Prince Nayef's career was propelled by his full-brother King Fahd.

Under Fahd, the Ministry of Interior became one of the most influential bureaucracies in Saudi Arabia.

Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, Nāyif ibn ‘Abd al ‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd; 1934 – 16 June 2012) was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and deputy prime minister from October 2011 and the minister of interior from October 1975 until his death in June 2012.