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) |
Website | https://houseofsaud.com/ |
Member State of the Arab League |
Basic Law |
Saudi Arabia portal |
The King of Saudi Arabia, officially the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (
History
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
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]
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 style | Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques |
Name | Lifespan | Reign start | Reign end | Notes | Family | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
King Abdulaziz and Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi | Saud |
Current heirs-presumptive
- Crown Prince: Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, born 31 August 1985 ; son of King Salman and Fahda bint Falah Al Hithlain.[11]
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
See also
- List of rulers of Saudi Arabia
References
- ^ "Saudi Arabia - Government and society". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Story behind the king's title". Arab News. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "King Salman of Saudi Arabia Ranked as the Most Influential Muslim in 2023". 31 October 2022.
- ^ "History | The Embassy of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". saudiembassy.net. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "About Saudi Arabia". UNDP in Saudi Arabia. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "History of Saudi Arabia. ( The Saudi National Day 23, Sep )". pmu.edu.sa. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Governance and Politics of Saudi Arabia". Fanack.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Mohammed bin Salman becomes Saudi Crown Prince with 31 out of 34 votes". Al Arabiya English. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ "Royal Standard (Saudi Arabia)". crwflags.com. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Who is Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed?". BBC News. 22 October 2018. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- TheGuardian.com. 2 October 2020.
- ^ Saudi Arabia: Events of 2019. 12 December 2019.