SA'UD

born Jan. 15, 1902, Kuwait died Feb. 23, 1969, Athens, Greece in full Sa'ud Ibn Abdul 'aziz Al-faysal As-sa'ud son and successor of Ibn Sa'ud, and king of Saudi Arabia from 1953 to 1964. After Ibn Sa'ud had conquered (1925) the Hejaz, a district in the Arabian Peninsula, he made his two eldest sons, Sa'ud and Faysal, his deputies in Najd and Hejaz, respectively. Sa'ud's primary responsibility was for the Bedouins. In 1933 he was named crown prince, and he and Faysal led a successful campaign against Yemen in the following year. When Ibn Sa'ud established a council of ministers in 1953, Sa'ud became its president, and in November of that year he became king with the support of his brothers. He continued his father's program of modernization, with special emphasis on increased medical and educational facilities. Domestic affairs, however, were overshadowed by a crisis in the administration of the central government; in the early 1950s the first large-scale petroleum royalties began to be received, and financial and administrative affairs became too complex to be conducted simply on the personal authority of the king. Sa'ud had neither the ability nor the inclination to cope with these problems, and he so mismanaged the financial affairs of the state that he was forced to reconstitute the council of ministers and give full executive powers to Faysal as its president. Sa'ud did not regain executive authority until 1960. In 1963 Sa'ud was forced to spend a considerable amount of time abroad for medical treatment, and in his absence domestic opposition intensified against him. The dissident elements supported Faysal, and in March 1964 all powers were transferred to him as viceroy of the kingdom. In November of that year Sa'ud was formally deposed, and Faysal became the new king of Saudi Arabia.