Abdullah

From Legacyview Dictionary of Biography

Arabic in full `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-`Aziz Al Sa`ud (b. 1924, Riyadh), king of Saudi Arabia (2005- ); son of Abdul Aziz; half-brother of Fahd. He supported Crown Prince Faysal during Faysal's power struggle with King Saud and was rewarded in 1962 with command of the National Guard, a force nearly as powerful as the Saudi army. He was appointed second deputy minister in 1975 by King Khalid after Faysal's assassination and was named crown prince and first deputy prime minister in 1982 by King Fahd. Following the 1995 stroke that afflicted King Fahd, Abdullah, who continued to command the National Guard, began running the daily affairs of the country. He formally served as regent for a short period in 1996. Though Abdullah was perceived as committed to preserving Arab interests, his goal was also to maintain good relations with the West, especially the U.S. Though Abdullah condemned the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by militant Islamists (most of them Saudi nationals) in the U.S., Saudi-U.S. relations reached a low ebb in the first half of 2002. In a move to improve relations, Abdullah launched his proposal for a Saudi peace initiative. It was adopted during the Arab summit meeting held in Beirut, Lebanon, on March 27-28, 2002, as an Arab peace initiative. The plan called upon Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian and Syrian lands and in return promised a full Arab normalization of relations with the Jewish state. However, he publicly refused to support the U.S. attack on Iraq or the use of Saudi military facilities for this purpose. Abdullah is seen as part of the "reformers" camp in Saudi Arabia. In September 2002 he called on the religious establishment to be less rigid in order to better serve the populace. He introduced the kingdom's first elections ever - municipal polls held in early 2005. He succeeded as king on Fahd's death later that year.

Source: http://www.rulers.org