Nayef bin Abdulaziz

Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also spelled Naif (1933 – 16 June 2012), was the Crown prince of Saudi Arabia as well as first deputy prime minister from 2011 to 2012. He was also minister of interior from 1975 to 2012.

Early life and education

Nayef bin Abdulaziz was born in Ta’if in 1934^[1] to Ibn Saud (King Abdulaziz) and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, making him one of the Sudairi Seven.^[2] He was the twenty-third son of King Abdulaziz.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Prince Nayef received education at "Princes' School" and from senior ulema (Muslim legal scholars). Additionally, he was educated in diplomacy and security affairs.^[6]

Early experience

From 1952 to 1953, Prince Nayef served as vice governor of Riyadh Province. In 1953, he was appointed as the governor of Riyadh province.^[7] He stayed in this post for one year.^[8] Then he served as governor of Madinah Province.^[7] In 1970, King Faisal appointed him to both deputy interior minister and minister of state for internal affairs.^[9]

Minister of Interior

In March 1975, after King Faisal's assassination, then-minister of interior Prince Fahd became the crown prince and Prince Nayef was appointed as the minister of interior by King Khalid.