Salman of Saudi Arabia

• Born: December 31, 1935
• Place of Birth: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

King of Saudi Arabia

Place of birth: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Significance: Salman of Saudi Arabia took the throne of Saudi Arabia in January 2015 after the death of his brother, King Abdullah Abdulaziz, on January 23, 2015.

Background

Salman bin Abdulaziz was born on December 31, 1935, in Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia, located in the central region of the peninsula. His father, King Abdulaziz ibn Saud, was the first king of Saudi Arabia and the founder of the nation in 1932. King Abdulaziz ibn Saud reportedly had dozens of wives and an unknown number of children; Salman is named by some sources as his twenty-fifth son. Salman was one of seven sons born to the king’s wife Hussa bint Ahmad Sudayri, often called the "Sudayri Seven."

Salman was educated at the Prince’s School in Riyadh, an exclusive private preparatory school established by King Abdulaziz to educate members of the Saudi royal family. Saudi Arabian press reports indicate that Salman studied religion and science; he later received an honorary doctorate from the Islamic University of Madinah.

Early Political Career

In 1955, Salman was named deputy governor of Riyadh. He served as deputy governor from March 1954 to April 1955, then became governor of Riyadh from April 1955 to December 1960. He briefly stepped away from the position but returned in February 1963.

Salman served as governor of Riyadh for forty-eight years, and supporters have argued that he was the person most responsible for the city’s growth. In the late 1960s, Salman’s government hired a Greek firm, Doxiadis Associates, to design the first master plan for the city. This plan, known as the Doxiadis Plan, resulted in the establishment of an urban grid that paved the way for later development. Salman developed a reputation for courting foreign investment and tourism, and from the 1970s to the 1980s, Riyadh grew to become the largest and most metropolitan city in Saudi Arabia.

During Salman’s tenure as governor, Riyadh's population grew from 200,000 in 1963 to more than seven million in 2011. Salman was also known for the transparency of his government and his aversion to corruption. His city government also supported allowing professional women to play a more major role in public life. As a result, women in Riyadh had opportunities for professional advancement that were not possible elsewhere in the Arab world.

As most of the younger members of the Saudi royal family lived in Riyadh, analysts described Salman as a peacemaker and manager for the family, helping to mediate disputes among members of the royal family and guiding and supervising the younger generation.

Appointment as Crown Prince

On November 5, 2011, Salman was appointed as defense minister after the death of his brother Prince Sultan. During his brief term, Salman worked on arms purchases that helped to bolster ties with the United States and France. In June 2012, Salman’s brother Nayef bin Abdulaziz, the former heir apparent, died before his ascension as king. Salman was officially named crown prince on June 18, 2012. The succession also established Salman as first deputy prime minister under Prime Minister and King Abdullah.

During his two years as crown prince and deputy prime minister, Salman assumed many of the duties associated with the prime minister’s office and increasingly traveled to meet with foreign leaders in preparation for his eventual ascendance to the throne.

Ascension to the Throne

King Abdullah died on January 23, 2015, at the age of ninety, from complications involving pneumonia, and Salman, then seventy-nine years old, became king of Saudi Arabia. Official reports highlighted Salman’s position as Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a title that refers to the Saudi king’s symbolic role in defending the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The title and role have been passed to newly appointed kings of Saudi Arabia since the death of King Abdulaziz in 1986.

Among Salman’s first decrees was to name his successor, Prince Muqrin, born in 1945. Muqrin was the youngest son of Ibn Saud, and some analysts suggested that Salman appointed Muqrin rather than his older brother Prince Ahmed because Muqrin was more likely to survive until Salman vacated the throne. Muqrin was a former director of the Saudi Intelligence Agency and former governor of Madinah Province.

Salman appointed Muhammad bin Nayef, who previously served as interior minister, as deputy crown prince. Bin Nayef was the first member of the royal family named to the line of succession who was not a son of King Abdulaziz ibn Saud.

Salman’s appointments indicated, to analysts, a focus on the long-term future of the nation. Salman named his own son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, as defense minister. Mohammed, born in 1980, became one of the youngest members of the royal family to hold a ministerial position. Salman also announced the creation of two new committees to address security and political issues, respectively.

Despite the emphasis on long-term stability, after only a few months as king, Salman changed course by removing Muqrin as his successor and naming Bin Nayef the new crown prince. Then, in June 2017, he relieved Bin Nayef of the position and installed Prince Mohammed as the heir to the throne. Various other appointments were also widely questioned. A few months later, Salman ordered a major purge of royal family members and various government figures, arresting hundreds of people on grounds of alleged corruption. Meanwhile, Salman oversaw the Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni Civil War beginning in 2015, a controversial move seen by many as exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

As king, Salman did introduce some reforms reminiscent of his efforts as mayor of Riyadh. Perhaps most notably, in September 2017, he issued a decree that women in Saudi Arabia would be allowed to obtain driver's licenses. The country's ban on women drivers, the last of its kind in the world, was officially lifted in June 2018. However, Salman mostly maintained Saudi Arabia's conservative leanings and overall concentrated power structure, at times drawing criticism from international observers. One major scandal arose in 2018 when dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Reports suggested Khashoggi was intentionally murdered by operatives with close ties to the Saudi royal family, though both Salman and Prince Mohammed bin Salman (who had an increasing level of influence in the country) denied knowing anything about the incident.

Due to his declining health and political controversies, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took over the duties of prime minister from Salman in 2022. In May 2024, King Salman was treated for lung inflammation.

Impact

As a leading member of the powerful House of Saud, Salman played a key role in Saudi Arabian politics and international affairs, especially after his elevation as king in 2015. While he supported some mildly progressive political reforms, he mostly continued Saudi Arabia’s conservative economic and social positions. Some international observers argued that the often controversial policies of Salman and his son, Mohammed bin Salman, strained US-Saudi relations and risked escalating tensions throughout the Middle East and the world.

Personal Life

Salman was officially married at least three times. Estimates differ regarding his children, with some sources claiming that Salman may have had as many as fifty, but most suggesting around thirteen. Several of his sons had prominent positions in Saudi Arabia, including Prince Mohammed, who was named crown prince. Salman’s son Prince Sultan joined the Space Shuttle Discovery mission as a payload specialist in 1985 and later served as secretary for the Ministry of Tourism and head of the Saudi Space Commission. Prince Faisal served as the governor of Medina, while Prince Abdulaziz became deputy oil minister and then minister of energy.

Some reports suggest Salman suffered from significant health problems during his tenure as king, including possible mild dementia. Observers claimed this played into behind-the-scenes power struggles within the Saudi royal family, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman taking control over many aspects of the government. King Salman underwent gallbladder removal surgery in 2020.

Bibliography

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