Khalid of Saudi Arabia

Biography

Khalid bin Abdulaziz was born in Riyadh in 1913, a son of the kingdom's founder, Abdulaziz. As a young man he represented his father among the desert tribes and assisted his half-brother Faisal on diplomatic missions. He was viceroy of the Hejaz from 1932 to 1934, signed the 1934 Taif treaty with Yemen and became interior minister; in 1943 he and Faisal made the first high-level Saudi visit to the United States.

After years away from the centre of power he became deputy prime minister in 1962 and was named crown prince in 1965, after his full brother Muhammad stood aside from the succession.

He became king and prime minister on 25 March 1975, the day King Faisal was assassinated. His reign coincided with the oil boom, which paid for large programmes in education, health and infrastructure. In November 1979 militants seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca while an allied group failed in an attempt to abduct him, and Shia protests broke out in the Eastern Province. He died of a heart attack in Taif in 1982 and was succeeded by Fahd.