Majid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Majid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (19 October 1938 – 13 April 2003) was a Saudi royal and businessman who served as the governor of Mecca from 1980 to 1999.

Majid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs
In office1975–1980
PredecessorOffice established
MonarchKing Khalid
Governor of Makkah Region
In office1980–1999
PredecessorFawwaz bin Abdulaziz
SuccessorAbdulmajeed bin Abdulaziz
MonarchKing Khalid
Born19 October 1938
Riyadh
Died13 April 2003(2003-04-13) (aged 64)
Jeddah
Burial13 April 2003
Al Adl cemetery, Mecca
SpouseNouf bint Abdallah bin Fahd Al Muhanna Aba Al Khail
Names
Majid bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal Al Saud
HouseAl Saud
FatherKing Abdulaziz
MotherMuhdi

Early life and education
King Abdulaziz, Prince Majid's father

Majid bin Abdulaziz was born in Riyadh on 19 October 1938[1][2] to King Abdulaziz and Muhdi.[3] His mother was an Armenian woman.[3] He had a full brother, Sattam bin Abdulaziz,[3][4] and two full sisters, Sultana bint Abdulaziz and Haya bint Abdulaziz.[5] Prince Majid received formal education in Riyadh.[1][4]

Career

In 1960 Prince Majid began to involve in business.[3] At the end of 1975, Majid bin Abdulaziz was appointed by King Khalid as minister of municipal and rural affairs, being the first minister.[6][7] Prince Mutaib also joined the Saudi cabinet at that time, being appointed minister of public works and housing.[8] These two appointments were a move to reduce the power of Sudairi Seven in the cabinet.[7][8]

On 3 March 1980, Prince Majid was appointed governor of the Mecca Region,[1][4] replacing Prince Fawwaz in the post. Prince Majid's tenure lasted for nineteen years ending in 1999 when he resigned from office as a result of a scandal involving one of his staff.[9]

Prince Majid was one of the founders of the Dar Al Maal Al Islami Trust which was initiated by Mohammed bin Faisal Al Saud, King Faisal's son, in 1981.[10]

Views and allegiances

In the early 1960s Prince Majid joined Free Princes Movement led by Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz.[11][4] However, he left the group the same year.[3][4]

In 1990 he argued that communism and other temporal ideologies were totally false and against human nature.[12] Prince Majid was close to both then Crown Prince Abdullah and Sudairi Seven, acting as a floating voter in contests.[13] However, during his tenure in Mecca governorship he was much closer to Crown Prince Abdullah.[14]

Personal life

Prince Majid married Nouf bint Abdallah bin Fahd Al Muhanna Aba Al Khail.[15] He had seven children, two sons and five daughters.[4] His eldest son, Mishaal bin Majid, is the governor of Jeddah city. Other son Abdulaziz bin Majid is the former governor of the Medina Region.[16] One of his daughters, Princess Jawaher bint Majid, is the first Saudi woman to have been granted the title of the patron of arts in Saudi Arabia.[17] Another daughter, Princess Basma bint Majid, married Prince Bandar bin Faisal Al Saud.[18][19]

Prince Majid was fond of reading books on social history and culture and of learning foreign languages and learned English and French.[2]

The Society of Majid bin Abdulaziz for Development and Social Services (Society) was founded in 1998 by Majid bin Abdulaziz.[20] Its name was “Makkah Al Mukarramah Association for Development and Social Services” at the founding stage. Later, it was changed into “The Society of Majid bin Abdulaziz for Development and Social Services”, and was registered as a “charity” in the register of charities at the ministry of social affairs in 2000.[20] Mishal bin Majid is the chairman of the society.[1]

The Majid society was given by the Global Research Alliance (GRA) A+ rating for its achievements during 2011.[21]

Death and funeral

Prince Majid died in Jeddah after suffering from a prolonged illness on 13 April 2003.[1][22] His funeral prayers were performed in Grand Mosque on the same day, and he was buried in Al Adl cemetery on Majed Street in Mecca.[22][23] Crown Prince Abdullah, Prince Sultan, Prince Nayef, Prince Salman and other senior Saudi royals attended the funeral.[22][24]

Honours

Ancestry

References
  1. "Majid bin Abdulaziz Biography". Majid Society. Archived from the original on 17 June 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  2. Publitec Publications, ed. (2007). Who's Who in the Arab World 2007-2008 (18th ed.). Beirut: Publitec Publications. p. 718. doi:10.1515/9783110930047. ISBN 9783598077357.
  3. "Appendix 6. The Sons of Abdulaziz" (PDF). Springer. p. 179. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  4. "HRH Majid bin Abdulaziz. Governor of Mecca". Arabian Gulf Digital Archive. March 1985. Retrieved 6 February 2023. British intelligence document
  5. "Family Tree of Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman bin Faisal Al Saud". Datarabia. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  6. Don De Marino (1979). "Royal factionism and Saudi foreign policy". Foreign Affairs. 58 (1): 181–184. doi:10.2307/20040345. JSTOR 20040345.
  7. Mordechai Abir (1988). Saudi Arabia in the Oil Era: Regime and Elites: Conflict and Collaboration. Kent: Croom Helm. ISBN 9780709951292.
  8. Ghassane Salameh; Vivian Steir (October 1980). "Political Power and the Saudi State". MERIP (91): 5–22. doi:10.2307/3010946. JSTOR 3010946.
  9. "Prince Mishaal on Governing Saudi Arabia's Second City, Jeddah". Wikileaks. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  10. Mohammed bin Faisal Al Saud (2014). "The Well of Influence". In Emmy Abdul Alim (ed.). Global Leaders in Islamic Finance: Industry Milestones and Reflections. Singapore: Wiley. p. 56. doi:10.1002/9781118638804.ch3. ISBN 978-1-118-46524-0.
  11. Yitzhak Oron, ed. (1961). Middle East Record. Vol. 2. Israel Program for Scientific Translation. p. 420. GGKEY:4Q1FXYK79X8.
  12. "Wealth keeps Saudi Kingdom stable". The News and Courier. Associated Press. 22 April 1990. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  13. Amir Taheri (2012). "Saudi Arabia: Change Begins within the Family". The Journal of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. 34 (3): 138–143. doi:10.1080/10803920.2012.686725. S2CID 154850947.
  14. "The Late Saudi King Fahd: A Mixed Legacy". Wikileaks. 1 August 2005. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
  15. "Family Tree of Majid bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud". Datarabia. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  16. "Emirs of Al Madinah". Ministry of Interior. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  17. "Princess Jawahir bint Majid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud". Arab Women. Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  18. Sharaf Sabri (2001). The House of Saud in commerce: A study of royal entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: I.S. Publications. ISBN 978-81-901254-0-6.
  19. Danna Lorch (17 December 2017). "The Ten-Minute Read: HRH Princess Basma's Birthday Art of Heritage Initiative". Vogue Arabia. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  20. "The Society of Majid bin Abdulaziz for Development and Social Services". Arab Sustainability Leadership Group. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  21. "the Global Research Alliance (GRA) has granted the society A+ rating for its achievements during 2011". Arab News. 14 March 2012. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  22. "Thousands Attend Majed's Funeral". Arab News. 14 April 2003. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  23. "Al-Adl: One of Makkah's oldest cemeteries". Saudi Gazette. 18 June 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  24. "Death of Prince Majid bin Abdulaziz". Saudi Embassy. 13 April 2003. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  25. "Reply to a parliamentary question about "Decoration of Honour"" (PDF) (in German). Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  26. "Real Decreto 3153/1977, de 21 de octubre, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica a S. A. R. Majed Ben Abdulaziz Al-Saoud y otros" (in Spanish). Boletín Oficial del Esfado. 13 December 1977. p. 27210. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
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