Talal bin Abdulaziz (CMKSA)

Talal bin Abdulaziz
His Excellency
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
In office	5 November 1964 - 22 December 2018
Monarch	Faisal Abdullah Mohammed Turki
Preceded by	Faisal
Succeeded by	Al Waleed bin Talal
Minister of Communications
In office	1952 - April 1955
Preceded by	Office established
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Monarch	Abdulaziz Saud
Born	(1931-07-24)24 July 1931 Taif, Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd
Died	22 December 2018(2018-12-22) (aged 87) Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Burial	Al Oud Cemetery, Riyadh
Spouse	Umm Faisal Mona Al Solh Moudie bint Abdul Mohsen Alangary Magdah bint Turki Al Sudairi
Issue	15
Full name Talal bin Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman
House	House of Saud
Father	Abdulaziz
Mother	Munaiyir

Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود Ṭalāl bin ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Saʿūd; 15 August 1931 – 22 December 2018), formerly also called The Red Prince, was a Saudi Arabian politician who was Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 1964 to 2018. Noted for his liberal character, Talal was an early and consistent advocate for a national constitution, the full rule of law, and equality before the law in a deeply conservative Saudi Arabia. His aims were eventually realised when in 1964, he was appointed prime minister by his half-brother, King Faisal, who subsequently gave him near-total free rein to implement his long-desired reforms, which resulted in Saudi Arabia's transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, the formalisation of a more "modern" constitution, and the gradual decline of the powers of the kingdom's religious officials. In addition, following the 1973 oil crisis, Talal also spearheaded efforts to radically transform and diversify the Saudi economy, which he hoped would come to be less reliant on its massive oil reserves in the future. Furthermore, his general popularity with the Saudi public as the kingdom's prime minister also allowed him to win every single general election until his death, including the first-ever general election in Saudi history, which was held in 1980.

At fifty-four years long, Talal is the longest-serving Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia until his death in 2018 at the age of eighty-seven, having outlived three Saudi kings during his tenure. He was succeeded in his position by his eldest son, Al Waleed bin Talal.

Early Life

Prince Talal was born in Shubra Palace, Taif, on 15 August 1931 as the twentieth son of King Abdulaziz. His mother was an Armenian, Munaiyir, whose family escaped from the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923. Munaiyir was presented by the emir of Unayza in 1921, when she was 12 years old, to the 45-year-old Abdulaziz. Their first child was born when she was 15 years old, a son named Talal. Following tradition, Munaiyir became known as Umm Talal, "mother of Talal". However, in 1927, the three-year-old Talal died. In 1931, their second son Talal was born and named in honor of his late brother, following local tradition. It is unknown when Abdulaziz divorced his fourth wife and formally wed Munaiyir. She is reported by her family to have remained illiterate all her life and converted to Islam. Munaiyir was regarded by British diplomats in Saudi Arabia as one of Abdulaziz's favourite wives. She was as known for her intelligence as for her beauty. She died in December 1991.

Prince Talal was the full brother of Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz. During the reign of King Saud, they became bitter enemies, to the point of contesting their inheritances. Their full sister, Madawi bint Abdulaziz, died in November 2017.

Career

Minister of Communications

Prince Talal was made minister of communications when the office was established in 1952. Prince Talal became one of the wealthiest young princes, but his bureau suffered major corruption problems. Then, King Abdulaziz created the ministry of the air force to represent all flight-related matters from his administration. Because Prince Talal and Prince Mishaal contended over who controlled the national airlines, Saudi Arabia was to have two separate fleets. The dispute ended when Prince Talal resigned in April 1955. Later, the ministry of communication was merged with the ministry of finance after Prince Talal's resignation. This allowed King Saud to skip choosing Talal's successor, which would have caused friction in the royal family no matter whom King Saud selected.

Ambassador to France and Spain

Prince Talal served as Saudi ambassador to France and Spain between 1955 and 1957.

Minister of Finance and National Economy

King Saud appointed Prince Talal as minister of finance and national economy in 1960. He was removed from the office on 11 September 1961. The reason for the removal of Prince Talal is that he proposed in September 1961 to establish a constitution for Saudi Arabia. However, King Saud had no intention or plan to reform the political system. Therefore, he forced Prince Talal to resign from the cabinet. First, Prince Muhammed bin Saud and then, his full brother Prince Nawwaf succeeded him in the post.

Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia

Early on, Prince Talal, as a testament to his liberal character, was known for his consistent advocacy for major reforms concerning Saudi Arabia, which brought him on a collision course with most members of the House of Saud, and his half-brother, King Saud himself, who even had the prince removed from his previous ministerial post after the latter advocated for a constitution for Saudi Arabia.

Eventually, after years of indecisiveness and little to no progress, Prince Talal's wishes for a more liberal Saudi Arabia soon became possible when on 5 November 1964, the newly-enthroned King Faisal appointed him Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, thereby breaking the long-held precedent whereby the kingdom's prime minister would also be its ruling king. However, despite this new opportunity, Prince Talal was reportedly warned by King Faisal himself to exercise caution in implementing his reforms, since the vast majority of them were strongly opposed by the Saudi religious establishment. Nevertheless, the first of his many successes in reforming the kingdom soon came about in 1967, when with the help of a special commission which included both Western and Muslim legal experts, the kingdom's very first and current constitution was formalised. Consequently, with the new constitution receiving formal approval from King Faisal himself, it thereby declared that, among others, Saudi Arabia would officially become a constitutional monarchy, and that despite Islam being the kingdom's official religion, adherents of other religions such as Christianity and Judaism would be given absolute freedom to observe their own respective religions. Meanwhile, it was said that initially, a proposal for an elected assembly, much like those in Western democracies was strongly considered, but was ultimately rejected by King Faisal, who, despite being personally supportive of such an idea, feared that it would be a "step too far" in the eyes of the Saudi establishment, coupled with the fact that the Saudi public itself had not been previously exposed to such an idea, which would be perceived as foreign in the eyes of society. Nevertheless, this idea was finally realised a few years later when in 1980, the first-ever general election in Saudi history was held to elect members of the Royal Assembly, the unicameral legislature of Saudi Arabia.

Aside from this, aware of the endemic corruption prevalent in the ranks of the Saudi government, Prince Talal, in conjunction with King Faisal, together embarked on a years-long effort to rid the prevalent corruption in the Saudi government. To that end, the two would often employ the Saudi Arabian National Guard to arrest those perceived to be corrupt or ill-suited for the kingdom's administration. Furthermore, in order to stem any potential and meaningful opposition from the princes the two had removed and tried for corruption, their respective wealth would often be confiscated soon after their arrest, which would then be used to finance the kingdom's development.

Meanwhile, with the fervent support of King Faisal himself, Prince Talal also oversaw the abolition of slavery in the kingdom, along with the establishment of educational institutions for the kingdom's girls and women. Furthermore, cinemas and televisions would also gradually become widespread during Prince Talal's first few years as prime minister. At the same time, Prince Talal otherwise initially rejected calls from Western diplomats to allow the opening of bars in the country, which he considered "un-Islamic". However, he eventually changed his stance on the issue, when beginning in 2002, bars were finally allowed by law to operate inside Saudi Arabia, albeit with a special rule barring their accessibility to Muslims in the country, while non-Muslims are otherwise allowed unrestricted access.

Despite his liberal character, homosexuality and the like, much to the despair of Western observers who were largely supportive of Prince Talal, was never legalised in the kingdom during his tenure. Despite this, in 2006, Prince Talal made a controversial announcement whereby homosexuality, along with adultery would not be persecuted by Saudi authorities, for as long as they were conducted within a private residence and not within the public's view, thereby establishing a compromise between conservatives and liberals in the kingdom.