King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Fahd bin Abdul Aziz [Fahd bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud] ascended to the throne in 1982 after Khalid suffered a fatal heart attack. Fahd, already the major spokesman for the Saudi regime, became even more active as Khalid's health steadily deteriorated. This visibility and experience stood him in good stead when Khalid died after a short illness on June 14, 1982; Fahd immediately assumed power and Abd Allah, head of the national guard, became crown prince. In consultation with his brothers, Fahd named Abd Allah (born 1923) crown prince and Sultan (born 1927) third in line of succession.
Prince Fahd’s first official visit outside the Kingdom was to attend the inauguration of the United Nations in New York in 1945, as part of the Saudi delegation led by the then Foreign Minister, later King, Faisal. At the age of 30, in 1953, Prince Fahd was appointed as the Kingdom’s first Education Minister. It was to be another thirty years before Prince Fahd became King but a summary of some of his duties in the intervening period shows that, by the time his reign began, he had a rich and varied experience of government, politics and diplomacy both at national and international level. Prince Fahd became Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister in March 1975, when Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz was proclaimed King. The growing leadership of the Kingdom in the Arab, Islamic and developing worlds required Crown Prince Fahd to assume an increasingly active role in international affairs.
The role of the monarchy in serving the Holy Places and facilitating pilgrimage has always been of paramount importance to the Saudi Royal Family. During his reign, King Fahd’s father, King Abdul Aziz, made clear in no uncertain manner that attacks by brigands on pilgrims would not be tolerated and, within available resources, every effort was made to ensure the safety and comfort of pilgrims.
In King Fahd’s reign, this tradition has been maintained and, with the benefit of increased revenues, a program of expansion and refurbishment on an unprecedented scale has been implemented. Of all the projects with which King Fahd is personally identified, none has been closer to his heart than the expansion of the Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah and to emphasize the monarchy’s commitment, and his own, to this responsibility, in 1986 King Fahd adopted the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in preference to the title of His Majesty.
As Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd has spared no effort and no expense in developing the Two Holy Mosques to accommodate in safety the vast numbers of pilgrims who visit the Kingdom each year, while at the same time taking great care to ensure that the expansion is entirely consistent with the architectural design of the existing structures.
Fahd suffered a serious stroke in November 1995. He has survived several strokes and major surgery and now moves about in a wheelchair. By 1999 he was in better health than he was in 1998, when he underwent emergency gall bladder surgery. But he had not stood up for more than a year, and his crippled knees can no longer bear his considerable weight. Although he is said to respond politely to conversation, but some visitors have come away with the impression that he is not fully engaged.
