Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Faisal bin Abdul Aziz (1906 - March 25, 1975) was King of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 1975.
He was born in Riyadh, the fourth son of Ibn Saud in 1906. In 1925, Faisal, in command of an army of Saudi loyalists, won a decisive victory in the Hijaz. In return, the following year he was made his father's Governor of Hijaz. As the new Saudi kingdom was formalized, Faisal received the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1932.
After the UN partition of Palestine, Faisal called on his father to break relations with the United States, but he was overruled.
After serving as Prime Minister, Faisal was named Regent as Saud's health failed, on March 4, 1964 On November 2 that year, he became king after his brother Saud was deposed and left for Greece.
He introduced many reforms such as girls schools and television but these reforms was opposed by many members of the people and royal family as both were seen to be against Islam. He was devastated when Isreal won the 1967 Six-Day War and he purportedly never smiled again.
In 1973 he started a program intended to increase the military power of Saudi Arabia he also warned the various U.S. administrations that something must be done about the Arab problem and on 17 October 1973 he withdrew Saudi oil from world markets quadrupling the price. He was also seen as being a major force behind the 1973 energy crisis as he was a fervent anti-communist, thus in 1974 he was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year.
He was shot and killed by his nephew, Faisali bin Musad, on March 25, 1975. He was succeeded on the throne by his brother Khalid.
The city of Lyallpur in Pakistan was renamed Faisalabad in 1979 in his honor. The Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan was named after him as well.
