Saudi Foreign Minister Dies. Served 40 Years at Post

Born in the mountainous region of Taif, Saud al-Faisal in 1964 earned a degree in economics from Princeton University (USA).

Ex- Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal died Thursday at the age of 75, two months after being replaced in the position he’d held for 40 years. He was 75.

This seasoned diplomat headed the Saudi foreign policy during the Iraq-Iran war (1980-1988) the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait (1990), the Gulf War that followed (1991).

Relatives earlier announced Saud’s death on social media.

Saudi officials gave no cause of death.

He retained that incisiveness even as a chronic back complaint and other maladies in recent years made his hands shaky and his speech slurred. “We all are saddened to be separated from you”. But in late April, Saudi King Salman, who ascended to the throne in January upon the death of half-brother King Abdullah, shook up the line of succession and his top advisers.

U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, said he “has not just been the planet’s longest-serving foreign minister, but also among the wisest”.

Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayyeb, the head of Egypt’s Al Azhar, praised the late prince as a “man of peace and a balanced and moderate thinker”, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

In December, Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf said his ministry would discuss with the central bank its options for financing the large state budget deficit expected this year, and said some might be covered by borrowing.

During his tenure, Prince Saud oversaw the emergence of Saudi Arabia as one of the world’s most influential diplomatic players.

Riyadh, Rajab 11, 1436, April 30, 2015, SPA – GCC foreign ministers lauded the role Prince Saud Al-Faisal, outgoing foreign minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, played in the establishment of the GCC.

Prince Saud said in 2004 that Saudi Arabia would like to reduce its dependence on US-dominated security arrangements. He was widely known for his sense of humor and charisma that were not so common among royal family members.

Another of Saud’s brothers, Prince Turki, was a longtime intelligence chief who served briefly as ambassador to Washington.

Prince Saud gradually worked his way up the ladder, first becoming deputy governor of Petromin in 1970 before becoming deputy minister of oil for petroleum policy in 1971.

Prince Saud’s nephew Saud Mohammed al-Abdullah al-Faisal also acknowledged the death of the veteran diplomat.

Since then, hackers identifying themselves as Yemeni claim to have plundered tens of thousands of documents from Saudi foreign ministry servers.