Khalid of Saudi Arabia

Khalid
Official portrait of King Khalid
Official portrait, 1977
King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
Reign25 March 1975 –
13 June 1982
Bay'ah25 March 1975
PredecessorFaisal
SuccessorFahd
Deputy Prime Minister
In office31 October 1962 –
25 March 1975
MonarchSaud
Faisal
RegentCrown Prince Faisal (1964)
Prime MinisterFaisal bin Abdulaziz
Born(1913-02-13)13 February 1913
Riyadh, Emirate of Riyadh
Died13 June 1982(1982-06-13) (aged 69)
Ta’if, Saudi Arabia
Burial13 June 1982
Spouses
List
Issue
List
  • Prince Bandar
  • Prince Abdullah
  • Princess Al Bandari
  • Princess Al Jawhara
  • Prince Fahd
  • Princess Nouf
  • Princess Moudi
  • Princess Hussa
  • Prince Mishaal
  • Prince Faisal
Names
Khalid bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman
DynastyAl Saud
FatherKing Abdulaziz
MotherAl Jawhara bint Musaed Al Saud

Khalid bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Saud (Arabic: خالد بن عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن بن فيصل بن ترکي بن عبدالله بن محمد بن سعود; 13 February 1913 – 13 June 1982) was the king and prime minister of Saudi Arabia from 25 March 1975 to his death in 1982. Before his ascension, he was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. He was the fifth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.

Khalid was the son of King Abdulaziz and Al Jawhara bint Musaed Al Saud. He assisted his half-brother Prince Faisal in his duties as foreign minister of Saudi Arabia. Khalid served as viceroy of the Hejaz region for a brief time in the 1930s. He visited the United States in 1943 together with Faisal, establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries. He was appointed deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia in 1962. King Faisal named Khalid as crown prince in 1965, after Khalid's full brother Prince Muhammad removed himself from the line of royal succession.

Following the assassination of King Faisal in 1975, Khalid ascended to the throne. His reign saw both huge developments in the country due to an increase in oil revenues and also significant events in the Middle East. In 1979, a group of civilians seized the Grand Mosque of Mecca and sought but failed to kidnap Khalid. Saudi forces regained control over the mosque, but the seizure resulted in the introduction of stricter religious policies in Saudi Arabia. Khalid died in 1982 and was succeeded by his half-brother Fahd.