Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (16 August 1932 – 29 September 2015) (Arabic:نواف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود Nawwāf bin 'Abd al 'Azīz Āl Su'ūd) was a Saudi Arabian businessman and politician. A member of the House of Saud, he became a close ally of King Abdullah.[1] In different periods Prince Nawwaf held significant government posts, including the director of Saudi intelligence agency.

Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Director General of Intelligence Agency
In office1 September 2001 – 26 January 2005
PredecessorTurki bin Faisal
SuccessorMuqrin bin Abdulaziz
MonarchFahd
Born(1932-08-16)16 August 1932
Taif, Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd
Died29 September 2015(2015-09-29) (aged 83)
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
SpouseJawahir Al Sheikh
Names
Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman
DynastyHouse of Saud
FatherKing Abdulaziz
MotherMunaiyir

Early life and education
King Abdulaziz, father of Nawwaf

Prince Nawwaf was born in Shubra Palace, Taif,[2] on 16 August 1932.[3] He was the twenty-second son of King Abdulaziz.[4]

He was a full brother of Prince Talal. Their full sister was Princess Madawi who died in November 2017.[5] Their mother was an Armenian, Munaiyir, whose family was forced to flee in 1915 in terror from the Armenian genocide during the reign of the Ottoman Empire.[6] Munaiyir was presented to King Abdulaziz when she was 12 years old in the palace of emir of Unayzah in 1921, she converted to Islam.[6] Their first child, Talal, was born in 1924. Following the tradition, Munaiyir became known as Umm Talal, "mother of Talal".[6] However, in 1927, the three-year-old Talal died.[6]

It is reported by her family that Munaiyir remained illiterate all her life.[6] Munaiyir was regarded by British diplomats in Saudi Arabia as one of King Abdulaziz's favourite wives. She was as known for her intelligence as for her beauty.[7] Munaiyir died in December 1991.[3]

During the reign of King Saud, his relations with his full-brother Prince Talal became negative, even leading to contesting their inheritances.[8]

Education

Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz received his primary Arabic and Islamic education at a special school for royal family members.[9] There he studied geography, history, geometry and religion.[10] He also completed undergraduate education in Islamic civilization in Saudi Arabia and his higher education in the United States.[11]

Career

Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz was the commander of the royal guard from 1952 to 1956.[12] In May 1961 Prince Nawwaf did not accept the proposal of King Saud to name him as minister of interior.[13] Then, he served briefly as chief of the royal court in 1961,[3] and he resigned from the office in July 1961.[13] Prince Nawaf was appointed minister of finance by the king, and served in the post from September 1961 to March 1962.[3][14][15] He succeeded Prince Talal in the post.[13]

On 1 February 1968, following the evacuation of the British forces from the Persian Gulf region, King Faisal named him as one of his special advisors for Persian Gulf affairs which he held until 1975.[15][16] In view of his experience in various spheres, King Faisal sent him to participate in official delegations of the Kingdom at various meetings, including Arab and Islamic summits and meetings of non-aligned countries. He also led the Kingdom's delegations on behalf of King Faisal or work as his special envoy. Prince Nawwaf was thoroughly familiar with international policy and law, and was also an expert on the Middle East affairs. He did his best to unify the ranks of the Arab emirates and to integrate these emirates into one state following their partitions into seven tiny states during the colonial rule.[11] In view of his rich experience in economic and political spheres, Prince Nawwaf was delegated to serve as the Saudi Government's official spokesman and its special envoy on several occasions. He visited the four corners of the world and positively contributed to the settlement of numerous disputes in Africa and the Middle East as well as in other parts of the world. He also accompanied Crown Prince Abdullah during his official foreign trips.[11] However, Prince Nawwaf did not hold any official position from 1975 to 2001.[17][18]

Prince Nawwaf was appointed director general of Saudi intelligence agency Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah following Prince Turki's resignation on 1 September 2001.[19][20][21] His appointment did not result in significant power change in the royal family, since King Fahd's son, Saud bin Fahd, continued to serve as deputy director which he had been serving since 1985.[22] However, through this move Crown Prince Abdullah attempted to reduce the power of Interior Minister Prince Nayef who had been the chair of a commission consisting of the heads of the organizations, including Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah.[18] Given that Prince Nawwaf was older than Prince Nayef the latter's power through this commission was at least challenged due to seniority of the former.[18]

Prince Nawwaf's tenure ended on 26 January 2005 when he resigned due to health concerns.[4][23] Immediately after the acceptance of his resignation, King Fahd appointed him as his special advisor.[23] Prince Muqrin replaced Prince Nawwaf as the director general of Saudi intelligence agency in October 2005, nine months after his resignation.[24][25][26] He was a special advisor to the King Abdullah at the rank of minister,[4] and his term was extended for four years in 2009. Prince Nawwaf also served as a special advisor to King Salman.[1]

Other activities

Prince Nawwaf was one of the supporters of the Free Princes Movement led by his brother Prince Talal in the early 1960s.[27] At the beginning of King Faisal's reign in 1964 Prince Nawwaf became a member of the council which had been established by the king to guide the succession issues.[28]

He contributed to the establishment of some industrial projects inside and outside the Kingdom to serve the Arab economy. His contribution to the strengthening of the Kingdom's relations with other world states is widely respected. He was one of the founders and a major shareholder of the Saudi-New Zealand Bank. He also owned some investment projects in the fields of real estate, energy[29] and tourism. He was one of the pioneers of the solar energy industry. Realizing the importance of solar energy, he extended his support to Sydney University in Australia to enable it to conduct research and studies in this field.[11]

Views

A Saudi survey conducted shortly after the 11 September attacks concluded that 95 percent of educated Saudi men aged between 25 and 41 supported Osama bin Laden's cause. Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz argued that this support was motivated by Saudi anger over U.S. support for Israel.[30] After the US sanctions against Iran in 2000, Prince Nawwaf said "Iran is being treated unfairly by some countries, and this is not in the interests of the Arabia Gulf or even the US."[17]

Personal life

Prince Nawwaf was married to Jawahir Al Sheikh, together they had three children: Abdulaziz (born 1979), Faisal (born 1984) and Sarah (born 1989).[3] In 2008, his daughter Princess Sarah was a student at Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland, pursuing a degree in international communications.[31] Mohammed bin Nawwaf was his eldest son who served as Saudi ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland between 2005 and 2018.[32]

Illness and death

In March 2002, Prince Nawwaf was admitted to the American University hospital in Beirut after suddenly suffering a stroke.[11] He was there for the Arab League summit meeting.[33][34] He was reported to have suffered a brain haemorrhage.[23][34] Then he underwent a surgery in 2002.[4] He was confined to a wheelchair following his health problems.[35]

Prince Nawwaf died on 29 September 2015 at the age of 83.[1] The funeral took place at Grand Mosque in Mecca on 30 September.[1]

Honours

Foreign honours

Ancestry

References
  1. "Saudi Prince Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud dies at age 83". Al Bawaba. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  2. "Shubra Palace: An architectural treasure house in Taif". Saudi Gazette. Taif. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  3. Sabri Sharaf (2001). The House of Saud in Commerce: A Study of Royal Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. New Delhi: Sharaf Sabri. p. 126. ISBN 978-81-901254-0-6.
  4. "HRH Prince Nawaf bin Abdulaziz". General Intelligence Presidency. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on 16 December 2010. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  5. David Hearst (1 January 2018). "Senior Saudi royal on hunger strike over purge". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  6. John Rossant (19 March 2002). "The return of Saudi Arabia's red prince". Online Asia Times. Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020. Six years earlier, in 1915, the family had been forced to flee in terror before the vast anti-Armenian massacres of that year.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  7. Stig Stenslie (2011). "Power Behind the Veil: Princesses of House of Saud". Journal of Arabian Studies: Arabia, the Gulf, and the Red Sea. 1 (1): 69–79. doi:10.1080/21534764.2011.576050. S2CID 153320942.
  8. Joseph A. Kéchichian (2001). Succession in Saudi Arabia. New York: Palgrave. p. 29. ISBN 9780312238803.
  9. Lucy Greenbaum (20 June 1947). "17th Son of Ibn Saud, 14, Signs Yearbooks, Is Interviewed for the School Paper". The New York Times. ProQuest 107909100. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  10. Lillian Ross (2001). "One man's family". In Lillian Ross (ed.). The Fun of It: Stories from The Talk of the Town. Toronto: Random House Publishing Group. p. 128. ISBN 978-0-307-43223-0.
  11. "Prince Nawaf ibn Abdulaziz Al Saud". Global Security. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  12. J. E. Peterson (2003). Historical Dictionary of Saudi Arabia (2nd ed.). Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-8108-2780-6.
  13. Yitzhak Oron, ed. (1961). Middle East Record. Vol. 2. Jerusalem: Israel Programs for Scientific Translations. pp. 419–420. GGKEY:4Q1FXYK79X8.
  14. "About Ministry of Finance". www.mof.gov.sa.
  15. "Prince Nawaf new intelligence chief". Arab News. 1 September 2001. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  16. "New Appointments". Arabian Gulf Digital Archive. 7 February 1968. Retrieved 6 February 2023. British intelligence document
  17. "Saudi Prince Criticizes Washington's Policy against Tehran". Al Bawaba. 1 September 2000. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  18. "Saudi Arabia in transition". Strategic Survey. 102 (1): 199–209. 2002. doi:10.1080/04597230212331339579. S2CID 219693859.
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  20. Patrick E. Tyler (24 September 2001). "A Nation challenged: Arab Ally. Saudis Feeling Pain of Supporting U.S." New York Times. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  21. Anthony H. Cordesman (2003). Saudi Arabia Enters the 21st Century. Westport, CT: Praeger. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-275-97997-3.
  22. Iris Glosemeyer (2004). "Saudi Arabia: Dynamism Uncovered". In Volker Perthes (ed.). Arab Elites: Negotiating the Politics of Change. Boulder, CO; London: Lynne Rienner Publishers. p. 141. ISBN 978-1-58826-266-0.
  23. "Saudi accepts resignation of intelligence chief". Daily Times. 27 January 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  24. "New Saudi spymaster marks shift in policy" (Special Report). UPI. Riyadh. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  25. Anthony H. Cordesman; Khalid R. Al Rodhan (2007). Gulf Military Forces in an Era Of Asymmetric Wars. Vol. 1. Westport, CT; London: Praeger. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-275-99399-3.
  26. "Prince Moqrin head of Saudi intelligence". UPI. Riyadh. 22 October 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  27. Vijay Prashad (2007). The Darker Nations- A Biography of the Short-Lived Third World. New Delhi: LeftWord Books. p. 275. ISBN 978-81-87496-66-3.
  28. David Rundell (2020). Vision or Mirage: Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 63. ISBN 978-1-83860-594-0.
  29. Nimah Mazaheri (2013). "The Saudi monarchy and economic familism in an era of business environment reforms". Business and Politics. 15 (3): 310. doi:10.1515/bap-2012-0039. S2CID 231796126.
  30. Neil Quilliam; Maggie Kamel (2003). "Modernising Legitimacy: Saudi Strategies". Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations. 2 (2). ISSN 2146-0809.
  31. "Travels with Lacie and a Saudi princess". Mercer Island Reporter. 24 November 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2012.
  32. "Committee Members". The Saudi British Society. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  33. "Mideast Turmoil; Saudi Suffers a Stroke". The New York Times. 28 March 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
  34. "No. 2 Saudi Delegate Suffers Stroke". Los Angeles Times. Beirut. AP. 28 March 2002. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  35. Simon Henderson (24 July 2012). "The Prince and the Revolution". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  36. "Semakan Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat".
  37. Boletín Oficial del Estado (in Spanish)
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