Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi

 

“WHEREVER my post happened to be, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, had been my guardian angel,” says Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja, former Saudi Ambassador in three world capitals.



“My first assignment was in Ankara, Turkey (1982). I quickly found that we needed an Arabic school and called him about it.



He never hesitated to approve every choice I made and action I took to start that school. It happened again when I was reassigned to Moscow, as the first Saudi ambassador ever.



A lot was needed — equipped buildings for the embassy, ambassador residence, staff residence, and … Arabic school.



“Within months, I managed to settle in all those buildings with his full support. Everything, furniture, computers, equipment, even books and pens were imported from Saudi Arabia in a special cargo airplane.



I can’t remember ever calling him for guidance, feedback or support without getting what I asked for or more.



“Saud Al-Faisal is an international magic code that opens many doors. Kings and presidents, prime and foreign ministers … they all recognize and respect his legacy.



He is like the global Dean of Foreign Policy. You can’t imagine how helpful it can be to have such a figure as your minister,” concludes Dr. Khoja, whose last position was the Cultural and Information Minister.



I heard similar testimonials from other Saudi ambassadors and foreign politicians and journalists.



Those who knew him well speak of a serious man, yet with a sharp sense of humor. Articulate and outspoken, he is known for weighing carefully every word, shade and tone in his statements.



As the British Ministry of Defense put it, the prince is "tall, handsome, and articulate.”



Saud Bin Faisal Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, is the fourth son of Saudi Arabia’s third King, Faisal, and the second son from the king’s wife, legendary Princess Effat.



Born in Taif, in 1940, he received his elementary and secondary education in Taif Model School, then followed his elder brothers, Mohammad and Khaled, to the US for higher education.



He attended the Hun School of Princeton, and graduated from Princeton University in 1965 with a bachelor in economics.



His first job was as an economic consultant for the Ministry of Petroleum. In 1966, he joined the national petroleum company, Petromin, in which he became deputy governor, in 1970.



A year later, he became deputy to the minister of petroleum, Sheikh Ahmad Zaki Yamani.



Only in 1975, did he move from the realms of economics and petroleum to the world of politics, as a state minister of foreign affairs first, then as the foreign minister.



Today the multi-lingual, intellectual prince, is the world’s longest-serving incumbent foreign minister, serving five kings (Faisal, Khaled, Fahd, Abdullah and Salman), in four decades (1975-2015).



Prince Saud was appointed chairman of the Saudi Aramco's committee, in 1999. After Sept. 11, he led Saudi Arabia's efforts to redefine its international image.



He publicly warned the Bush administration not to invade Iraq, and drew a scenario of what it would lead to, and asked Condoleezza Rice to focus on "key substantive issues" of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. History proved him right.



In 2009, King Abdullah appointed him the chairman of the influential Supreme Economic Council, which was replaced in January 2015 with the Council of Economic and Development, chaired by Defense Minister, Prince Mohammad Bin Salman.



Prince Saud, father of six, is closely involved in philanthropy. He is a founding member of the King Faisal Foundation and chairman of the board of directors for the King Faisal School and Al Faisal University in Riyadh.



He is also a member of the Society for Disabled Children and the Madinah Society for Welfare and Social Services.



In recent years, the 75-year-old prince, has suffered from severe back and neck problems. He seems to be in constant pain as he travels continuously across the globe, carrying tough issues on his shoulders.



He had at least three surgeries on his back, two in California and one in King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah, 2012.



On Jan. 25, 2015, the Saudi Royal Court announced that Prince Saud had a successful spine surgery in Los Angeles.



He returned last week from a short rest in Paris to join GCC foreign ministers in Riyadh, as they met with US State Secretary John Kerry to discuss Iran nuclear and regional ambitions, and its destructive power games in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.



His main regret, in his long career, is that the Palestinian problem, to which his father devoted his life, has not been resolved and his generation of leaders have failed to create a Palestinian state.



Forty years as a foreign minister, Saud Al-Faisal is still going strong. He is a treasure of experience, vision and leadership that we cannot afford to let go — not currently with our world on fire!



We wish him the best of health and success to continue under the leadership of King Salman, on the footsteps of his father, King Faisal, who was the first Saudi foreign minister, and the longest-serving in the world (he held the position even as a king from 1930-1975). Ameen.



— Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at kbatarfi@gmail.com. Follow him at Twitter: @kbatarfi