Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1975 to 1982. He was the eighth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.

The King of Saudi Arabia, officially the King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is the monarch and head of state/government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who holds absolute power. He is the head of the Saudi Arabian royal family, the House of Saud. The king is the supreme commander-in-chief of the Royal Saudi Armed Forces and the head of the Saudi national honors system. The king is called the "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques", a title that signifies Saudi Arabia's jurisdiction over the mosques of Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and 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. The king has been named the most powerful and influential Muslim and Arab leader in the world according to the Muslim 500.