Prince Saud, appointed in 1975, was the world’s longest serving foreign minister when he retired in April.
Former Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has died, Saudi officials told Al Jazeera, two months after he retired following 40 years in the job.
A senior level Saudi information ministry official on Thursday said that Prince Saud had passed away and that an official statement would be published soon.
Prince Saud, who was appointed in 1975, was the world’s longest serving foreign minister when he was replaced on April 29 by Adel al-Jubeir, the then ambassador to Washington.
His tenure saw Israel invade Lebanon in 1978, 1982 and 2006, the eruption of Palestinian intifadas in 1987 and 2000, Iraq’s invasions of Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990, and the occupation of Iraq by a US-led coalition in 2003.
Prince Saud served under four Saudi kings, advancing the Kingdom’s foreign policy, especially after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States.
He was also part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to lessen Iran’s influence in the region, including the continuing conflict in Syria, where Saudi Arabia has been supporting several rebel groups.
Asked in early 2012 if it would be a good idea to arm Syria’s rebels, he said briskly: “I think it’s an excellent idea.”
‘Well liked and respected’
Prince Saud, a son of King Faisal, was born in 1940 in Taif near Mecca, where in 1989 he helped negotiate the agreement that ended Lebanon’s 15-year civil war.
A degree at Princeton in the 1960s was followed by years at the Petroleum Ministry, where he was taken under the wing of his father’s canny and charismatic oil minister Ahmed Zaki Yamani.
His career as a diplomat began traumatically: the new King Khaled named him as foreign minister following the assassination of Prince Saud’s father Faisal, who had retained the foreign affairs portfolio after being made king in 1962.
