MAKKAH — A statement from the royal court today said that Prince Saud Bin Faisal Bin Abdulaziz, minister of state, cabinet member, adviser and special envoy of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and supervisor of foreign affairs passed away on Thursday in the USA.
Funeral prayer for Prince Saud will be performed in the Grand Mosque in Makkah after Isha prayer on Saturday July 11, 2015 (Ramadan 24, 1436H).
Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who was the world's longest-serving foreign minister, has died, family members and a Foreign Ministry spokesman said late Thursday.
Prince Saud, who was born in 1940, was one of the highest profile members of the Kingdom's ruling elite and steered the diplomacy of the world's leading oil exporter for four decades before stepping down in April for health reasons.
The prince oversaw Saudi Arabia's emergence as a major diplomatic player, facing successive regional crises and maintaining a focus on relations with the West.
Nawaf Al-Faisal, a relative, announced the death on Facebook, while a Foreign Ministry spokesman also confirmed the death on Twitter and expressed condolences.
"I wish I could deny the rumor of the news of your death," the spokesman Osama Nugali tweeted.
Prince Saud's nephew Prince Saud Muhammad Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal also acknowledged the death of the veteran diplomat.
"May God accept him in paradise," he wrote on Twitter.
