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Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Riyadh

Salman was appointed Deputy Governor of Riyadh Province on 17 March 1954, aged 18, and held the post until 19 April 1955. He was appointed the governor of the same province on 5 February 1963, and remained in that office until 5 November 2011, a period of almost half a century.

As governor, Salman contributed to the development of Riyadh from a mid-sized town into a major urban metropolis. He served as an important liaison to attract tourism, capital projects, and foreign investment to his country. He favored political and economic relationships with the West. During his governorship, Salman recruited advisors from King Saud University.

During Salman's five decades as Riyadh governor, he became adept at managing the delicate balance of clerical, tribal, and princely interests that determine Saudi policy. He was also the chairman of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (KAFRA), King Abdulaziz Museum, the Prince Salman Center for Disability Research and the Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society for the Care of Kidney Patients.

Salman also undertook several foreign tours while he was governor. In 1974, he visited Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar to strengthen Saudi Arabia's relationship with those nations. During his visit to Montreal, Canada in 1991, he inaugurated a gallery. In 1996, he was received in the Élysée Palace in Paris by the then-French president Jacques Chirac. The same year he toured Bosnia and Herzegovina to give donations to the Muslim citizens of the country. Being a part of an Asian tour in 1998, Salman visited Pakistan, Japan, Brunei and China.

According to The Washington Post, the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi "criticized Prince Salman, then governor of Riyadh and head of the Saudi committee for support to the Afghan mujahideen, for unwisely funding Salafist extremist groups that were undermining the war [in Afghanistan against the Soviets]."

Under Salman, Riyadh became one of the richest cities in the Middle East and an important place for trade and commerce. There were also infrastructural advances including schools, universities, and sports stadiums. About the province, he said:

Every village or town in the Riyadh Region is dear to me, and holds a special place in my heart ... I witnessed every step taken by the city of Riyadh, and for this reason, it is difficult for me to think about being far away from Riyadh.

KSRelief

In May 2015, the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief) was established to deliver aid internationally to victims of civil war and natural disaster, working with the UN and other agencies. As of June 2018, KSRelief has implemented more than 400 individual projects in 40 countries at a cost of $1.8 billion. Moreover, in 2018, KSRelief assisted 180,555 Syrian patients living in Zataari Syrian refugees camp in Jordan. In 2019, KSRelief signed a memorandum of cooperation with UNICEF that aims at enhancing cooperation in the humanitarian field, exchanging knowledge, sharing experiences, promoting voluntary work and boosting capacity building programs. Until 2019, the center provided 1,839 Yemeni civilians wounded during the war with prosthetic limbs for a total amount of $2.3 million.

In its ongoing efforts to support the people of Yemen, KSRelief organized a vocational training program to train women in Yemen to enable them to earn money for themselves and their families. In a similar context, under the umbrella of the UN, KSRelief has led an international team to implement a rehabilitation project for the children affected by war in Yemen. Moreover, as part of the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council, KSRelief organized an event entitled: Children and the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen where it presented a number of facts and figures related to the amount of assistance provided by the center to the people of Yemen. This includes the implementation of 328 projects for an amount of $2 billion. Furthermore, in 2018 alone, KSRelief provided medical services to 2,501,897 Yemenis.

In 2019, KSRelief signed a number of agreements with different civil society organizations to implement relief projects for the benefit of Palestinian and Syrian refugees as well as the host Lebanese community. KSRelief signed an agreement with the UNHCR to support the families affected by war for an amount of $5 million. Another agreement with IOM was signed to help Syrian refugees under the poverty line for an amount of $3.8 million.

In 2020, KSRelief confirmed that it will be rebuilding the camp of Syrian refugees that had been destroyed during the fighting of local youth and camp residents. They also covered the needs of the refugees.

In 2021, KSRelief and UNESCO planned to launch the Kodrat project which aims to support Lebanon teachers through the creation of an online self-learning platform. At an estimated cost of $887,000, the one-year project will directly train about 1,000 teachers and 50 trainers from 100 Lebanese public schools affected by the Beirut explosion.

In 2022, KSRelief continued its relief efforts to ensure food security for refugees in Lebanon, Sudan, Bangladesh, and Yemen.

In 2023, KSRelief provided treatment services to people of Yemen. In 2024, KSRelief continued its food security project in Sudan to aid more than 4,000 individuals. It also carried out humanitarian projects in Lebanon and Indonesia.

Marriages and issue

Salman bin Abdulaziz has reportedly been married at least three times. Reliable sources differ on the number of his children: while The Telegraph has reported that he has at least 13 children, CNN states that the exact number is not publicly available.

Salman's first wife was his first cousin Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi, daughter of his maternal uncle Turki bin Ahmad Al Sudairi, a former governor of Asir Province. They were married in 1954, when Salman was 18 years old and Sultana was 13 or 14. She gave birth to six children, including his only known daughter. Two adult sons died during the couple's lifetimes. Sultana died on 30 July 2011. Their children were:

Prince Fahd (1955–2001). Salman was only 19 years old when he became a father with the birth of Fahd in 1955. Fahd married a cousin and was the father of four children. A businessman and horse-breeder, he died of heart failure aged 47 in July 2001. After his death, his mother extended generous patronage in his memory to an existing, struggling charity, which then renamed itself The Prince Fahd bin Salman Charitable Society for the Care of Kidney Patients. Fahd's brother Abdulaziz has taken over patronage of that charity after the death of their mother.

Prince Sultan (born 1956). He became the first person of royal blood, the first Arab, and first Muslim to fly to outer space when he flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-51-G) in June 1985. Sultan bin Salman is currently the chairman of the Saudi Space Commission. Prince Sultan bin Salman was formerly the chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), which later was changed to be the Ministry of Tourism.

Prince Ahmed (1958–2002), died of a heart attack in July 2002 aged 43.

Prince Abdulaziz (b. 1960). He has been the deputy minister of oil since 1995, then the minister of Energy since 2019.

Prince Faisal (b. 1970). He was the governor of Madinah province from 2013 to 2023.

Princess Hassa (b. 1974), Salman's only known daughter. On 28 May 2021, she was married to a cousin, Fahd bin Saad Al Saud, at the Royal Sea Place in Jeddah.

Salman's second wife was Sarah bint Faisal Al Subai'ai, whom he divorced. The relatively brief marriage produced one son:

Prince Saud (b. 1986).

Salman's third wife is Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain, granddaughter of Rakan bin Hithlain and great-granddaughter of Dhaydan bin Hithlain, leaders of the Al Ajman tribe. U.S. intelligence officials believe that King Salman has been kept apart from Princess Fahda for several years, on the orders of their son Prince Mohammed bin Salman. She has six sons with Salman:

Prince Mohammed (b. 1985), Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. He was Salman's private adviser at the Ministry of Defense and at the Crown Prince Court. Upon Salman's accession to the throne in January 2015, he was appointed minister of defense and head of the royal court. Later he was named crown prince.

Prince Turki (b. 1987). He became the chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group in February 2013, replacing his elder half-brother Faisal.

Prince Khalid (b. 1988), Minister of Defense of Saudi Arabia since 2022

Prince Nayef

Prince Bandar

Prince Rakan