WITH the death of Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, the Kingdom and the world have lost one of the most prominent leaders who tirelessly worked in the service of his religion, nation and humanity in general. Crown Prince Sultan was Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister for nearly half a century. He served as defense and aviation minister from 1962, and was known for his regular acts of largesse. Crown Prince Sultan was renowned for the lavish patronage he accorded to the Kingdom's tribes, civil servants, soldiers, and civic and religious groups. As defense and aviation minister, and the government's inspector general, Crown Prince Sultan oversaw a major buildup of the Kingdom's armed forces and the national carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines. n Born in Riyadh on Sha'aban 16, 1349H (corresponding to Jan. 5, 1931). n Brought up by his father, the late King Abdul Aziz (May Allah bless his soul), the Founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Sultan learnt the Holy Qur'an and Arabic language from senior scholars and expanded his knowledge through diplomacy and visits. n Crown Prince Sultan participated in most of the Saudi official delegations headed by the late King Faisal (May Allah bless his soul), to attend Arab and Islamic summits and the sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Crown Prince Sultan headed Kingdom's official delegations on many visits abroad, prominent among which include the 40th anniversary of the United Nations in 1985, the 50th anniversary in 1995, as well as the 60th anniversary in 2005. In 1428H (2007), Crown Prince Sultan headed the Kingdom's delegation to the third OPEC summit in Riyadh. Appointed Governor of Riyadh in 1366H (1947). Appointed Minister of Agriculture in 1373H (1953). Took over as Minister of Transport in 1375H (1955). Appointed Minister of Defense and Aviation in 1382H (1962). Appointed Second Deputy Premier in 1402H (1982), in addition to his responsibilities as Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. Named Crown Prince and Deputy Premier in 1426H (2005), in addition to his responsibilities as Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General. The Crown Prince also assumed the posts of the Presidency or Vice Presidency of the following Councils and Committees: Chairman of Board of Directors of Civil Aviation Authority. Chairman of Board of Directors of Saudi Arabian Airlines. Chairman of Economic Offset Higher Committee. Chairman of Board of Directors of General Organization for Military Industries. Chairman of National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development. President of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs. Supreme President of Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Foundation. Chairman of Ministerial Committee of Environment. Supreme President of Strategic Storage. Chairman of Special Committee of the Cabinet. Chairman of Higher Committee for Education Policy. Chairman of Ministerial Committee for Administrative Organization. Chairman of Board of Directors of Food and Drug Authority. Chairman of Board of Directors of World Arab Encyclopedia. Chairman of Saudi side at Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council. n Chairman of Saudi side at Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council. Vice President of Supreme Commission of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. Vice President of National Security Council. Vice President of Supreme Council for Petroleum and Minerals Affairs. Vice President of Supreme Authority for Investment. Vice President of Supreme Economic Council. Vice President of The Allegiance Council. President of Supreme Council of Manpower. Chairman of Board of Directors of Supreme Commission for Tourism. n Vice President of Supreme Council for Administrative Reform. The Crown Prince was awarded the following medals: King Abdul Aziz Sash (First Class) in 1393H. National Order of Chad in Chad in 1392H. National Order of the Lion of Senegal in 1392H. National Order of Merit of Grand Class of France in 1393H. An Order of Merit of Italy in 1393H. Omayyad Medal of Syria in 1395H. Nile Sash of Egypt in 1396H. Sash Kuwait Medal of First Class in 1396H. Highest Medal of Niger in 1396H. Order of Liberator Simon Bolivar of First Class of Venezuela in 1396H. Nishan-e-Pakistan in 1396H. The Sash of Honor of Sudan in 1396H. The Highest Medal of Blessed Cloud Class of National China in 1397H. Maha Putra Oerawana Medal of Indonesia in 1397H. Mono Medal of Greatest Officer Class of Togo in 1398H. National Medal of Greatest Officer Class of Zaire in 1399H. Mohammadi Medal of Second Class of Morocco in 1399H. Knight of Order of Great Class of Sweden in 1401H. Knight of Order of the State of First Class of Malaysia in 1401H. Sash of Merit of First Class of Denmark in 1404H. The Star of Palestine of Excellent Class in 1418H. Medal of Unity of First Class of Yemen in 1422H. Medal of Top Humanitarian Honor of Sweden in 1428H. Medal of Carlos III of Spain in 1429H. Crown Prince Sultan also received the following certificates of merit: Shield of First Arab Man of Environment in 1996. An Honorary Doctorate from the Islamic University of Malaysia in 2000. n An Honorary Doctorate from University of Al-Jazirah in Sudan in 2001. Sheikh Rashid Award for Humanitarian Personality in 2002. An Honorary Doctorate from British University of Cranfield for Space and Aviation Sciences. The university also selected the Crown Prince as the Personality of the Year 2003, in recognition of his efforts in the field of civil and military aviation. Prize of Peace and Environment from Arab-European Cooperation Center in 2003. An Honorary Doctorate from the University of Waseda of Japan in 2006. An Honorary Doctorate from Moscow Institute of International Relations of Russian Federation in November 2007. An Honorary Doctorate from King Saud University in Riyadh in September, 2008. The Crown Prince has a record of charitable deeds at home and abroad, and he has established two charities to achieve humanitarian and social objectives through Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Foundation and Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Special Committee for Relief. Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud Foundation is a non-profitable organization established by the Crown Prince in 1995. It has a number of humanitarian and social goals in the provision of social and health care, comprehensive rehabilitation of people with special needs and the elderly people, in addition to its significant activities in support of researches in the field of humanitarian and medical services, and technical sciences in collaboration with prestigious research centers in the world. Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Special Committee for Relief aims to provide humanitarian and relief emergency services. In implementation of the Crown Prince's directives, the committee began in Niger in 1998 under the name of the Special Committee for Relief in Niger, then Mali was added to the committee in 1999, and later in 2000, it extended its work to include Chad, Ethiopia, Malawi, Djibouti and other countries. The committee has sent relief and medical convoys to combat common diseases such as malaria and blindness, and has set up several developmental, social and health projects including digging wells, building schools, public libraries, mosques, hospitals and dialysis centers in these countries. Crown Prince Sultan is survived by a number of children; they include Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, former ambassador to the United States who now heads the National Security Council, and Prince Khaled Bin Sultan, Deputy Defense Minister.
