Mohammed of Saudi Arabia
| Mohammed | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques | |||||
 | |||||
| King of Saudi Arabia | |||||
| Reign | 8 May 2007 - 21 August 2011 | ||||
| Bay'ah | 8 May 2007 | ||||
| Predecessor | Abdullah | ||||
| Successor | Turki | ||||
| Monarch | Talal bin Abdulaziz | ||||
| Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia | |||||
| Tenure | 5 January 1967 - 8 May 2007 | ||||
| Predecessor | Abdullah bin Faisal | ||||
| Successor | Turki bin Abdullah | ||||
| King | Abdullah | ||||
| Born | 12 January 1943 Mecca, Saudi Arabia | ||||
| Died | 21 August 2011 (aged 68) Washington D.C., United States | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Nouf bint Khalid (divorced) Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi | ||||
| Issue | 11 | ||||
| |||||
| House | House of Saud | ||||
| Father | Abdullah | ||||
| Mother | Al Jawhara bint Khalid bin Mohammed | ||||
| Mohammed's signature | |||||
Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Saud (Arabic: محمد بن عبدالله ال سعود Muḥammad bin ʿAbd Allāh Āl Suʿūd; 12 January 1943 - 21 August 2011) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King of Saudi Arabia from 8 May 2007 to 21 August 2011. The second eldest son of King Abdullah, he ascended to the throne following his father's passing. At only four years long, his reign was the shortest in Saudi Arabia.
Prior to his ascension to the throne, Mohammed was the kingdom's crown prince for over fourty years long, during which he assisted his great uncle, Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz in reforming the kingdom. During this period, he reportedly survived a large number of assassination attempts, believed to have been orchestrated by religious fundamentalists in Saudi Arabia who were against the government's massive reforms. Nevertheless, Mohammed went on to survive each of these assassination attempts, thereby allowing him to eventually succeed to the throne on August 2011, when his father, King Abdullah passed away. However, just four years later, while in the midst of a diplomatic dialogue with President Barack Obama, Mohammed himself would also pass away. His body was then airlifted from Washington D.C. to Mecca, where he was subsequently buried. Following his death, he was succeeded by his eldest son, the current King Turki.
Throughout his lifetime, Mohammed has been married twice, with the first being to Nouf bint Khalid, daughter of Prince Khalid bin Abdulaziz, which ended in divorce. For his second marriage, he was married to Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi of Iran, the eldest child of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.