King of Saudi Arabia

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King of Saudi Arabia
ملك المملكة العربية السعودية
Royal Standard of Saudi Arabia
Incumbent
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
since 23 January 2015
Details
Style
Al-Yamamah Palace
(Riyadh)
Al-Salam Palace
(Jeddah)
Websitehttps://houseofsaud.com/

The King of Saudi Arabia, officially the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (

Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. The title has been used many times through the history of Islam. The first Saudi king to use the title was Faisal; however, King Khalid did not use the title after him. In 1986, King Fahd replaced "His Majesty" with the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and it has been since used by both King Abdullah and King Salman.[2] The king has been named the most powerful and influential Muslim and Arab leader in the world according to the Muslim 500.[3]

History

King Abdul-Aziz, known in the West as Ibn Saud, regained his patrimony, which is known as today's Saudi Arabia in 1902. Restoring his family as emirs of Emirate of Riyadh, he then established Sultanate of Nejd as his headquarters in 1922. Following the establishment of Riyadh as the capital of his state, Ibn Saud then captured Hejaz in 1925.[4]

Ibn Saud proclaimed his dominions as the Sultanate of Nejd in 1921, shortly before completing the unification of the region. He was proclaimed king (malik) of Hejaz in 1926, and raised Nejd to a kingdom as well in 1927. For the next five years, Ibn Saud administered the two parts of his realm, the Kingdom of Hejaz and Nejd as separate units. On 23 September 1932, he formally united his territories into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.[5][6]

Succession

The kings since Ibn Saud's death have all been his sons, and all likely immediate successors to the reigning King Salman will be from among his progeny.[7] This makes the Saudi monarchy quite distinct from Western monarchies, which usually feature large, clearly defined royal families and orders of succession, and use the primogeniture system of succession. Muhammad bin Nayef was the first grandson of Ibn Saud to be in the line of succession before being deposed from the position of Crown Prince by a royal decree in 2017.[8]

Other functions

The king of Saudi Arabia is also considered the head of the

deputy prime minister
" until 2021 and is currently prime minister. The kings after Faisal have named a "second deputy prime minister" as the subsequent heir after the crown prince.

Royal Standard

  • The Royal Flag consists of a green flag, with an
    Arabic inscription and a sword featured in white, and with the national emblem embroidered in gold in the lower right canton.[9]
Royal Flag of the King Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag

The script on the flag is written in the Thuluth script. It is the shahada or Islamic declaration of faith:

لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله
lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāh, muhammadun rasūlu-llāh
There is no god but God: Muhammad is the Messenger of God."[10]
  • The Royal Standard consists of a green flag, in the center of the national emblem embroidered with gold.

Kings of Saudi Arabia (1932–present)

Styles of
The King of Saudi Arabia
Reference style
His Majesty
Spoken styleCustodian of the Two Holy Mosques
NameLifespanReign startReign endNotesFamilyImage
King Abdulaziz and Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi
SaudSalman of Saudi Arabia


Current heirs-presumptive

Opposition

Criticism of the King, religious leaders, or government is not allowed and can generally mean jail time for the critics. It can also result in death.[12][13]

Timeline

Salman of Saudi ArabiaAbdullah of Saudi ArabiaFahd of Saudi ArabiaKhalid of Saudi ArabiaFaisal of Saudi ArabiaSaud of Saudi ArabiaIbn Saud


Graph of change of life expectancy in Saudi Arabia under various kings

See also

  • List of rulers of Saudi Arabia

References

  1. ^ "Saudi Arabia - Government and society". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Story behind the king's title". Arab News. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  3. ^ "King Salman of Saudi Arabia Ranked as the Most Influential Muslim in 2023". 31 October 2022.
  4. ^ "History | The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". saudiembassy.net. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  5. ^ "About Saudi Arabia". UNDP in Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  6. ^ "History of Saudi Arabia. ( The Saudi National Day 23, Sep )". pmu.edu.sa. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Governance and Politics of Saudi Arabia". Fanack.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Mohammed bin Salman becomes Saudi Crown Prince with 31 out of 34 votes". Al Arabiya English. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Royal Standard (Saudi Arabia)". crwflags.com. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  10. ^ "About Saudi Arabia: Facts and figures". The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington D.C. Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Who is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed?". BBC News. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  12. TheGuardian.com
    . 2 October 2020.
  13. ^ Saudi Arabia: Events of 2019. 12 December 2019.