Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz

Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz

(äbdo͝ol`lä ĭb`ən ăbdo͝ol` ăzēz`), 1924–2015, king of Saudi Arabia (2005–15), b. Riyadh. Like his predecessor, King FahdFahd bin Abdul Aziz
, 1923–2005, king of Saudi Arabia (1982–2005). A son of Ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia, Fahd served as education minister (1953–62) and interior minister (1962–75) and was named (1975) crown prince by his half-brother King
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, he was a son of Saudi Arabia's founder, Ibn SaudIbn Saud
(Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud) , c.1880–1953, founder of Saudi Arabia and its first king. His family, with its regular seat at Riyadh in the Nejd, were the traditional leaders of the ultraorthodox Wahhabi movement in Islam.
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, but by a different wife. In 1963 he was appointed deputy defense minister and also commander of the Saudi National Guard, a post he held until 2010. Named second deputy prime minister in 1975, he became crown prince and first deputy prime minister on Fahd's accession to the throne in 1982. From the 1970s he worked to modernize the kingdom's economy and also was active as a diplomat. After the king suffered a stroke in 1995, Abdullah became Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler. A traditionalist, Arab nationalist, and active supporter of the WahhabiWahhabi
or Wahabi
, reform movement in Islam, originating in Arabia; adherents of the movement usually refer to themselves as Muwahhidun [unitarians]. It was founded by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab (c.
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 form of Islam, he nonetheless introduced a number of cautious governmental reforms and cracked down on militants following terrorist attacks in 2003. Abdullah also sought to balance strong ties with other Arab and Muslim countries with good relations with the United States and European nations. He was succeeded as king by SalmanSalman bin Abdul Aziz,
1935–, king of Saudi Arabia (2015–), b. Riyadh. Like his predecessor, King Abdullah, he is a son—by a different wife—of Saudi Arabia's founder, Ibn Saud.
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.