1.
King of Saudi Arabia
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The King of Saudi Arabia is Saudi Arabias head of state and absolute monarch. He serves as the head of the Saudi monarchy — House of Saud, the King is called the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The title, which signifies Saudi Arabias jurisdiction over the mosques of Masjid al Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, King Abdulaziz began conquering todays Saudi Arabia in 1902, by restoring his family as emirs of Riyadh. He then proceeded to conquer first the Nejd and then the Hejaz and he progressed from Sultan of Nejd, to King of Hejaz and Nejd, and finally to King of Saudi Arabia in 1932. The kings since Ibn Sauds death have all been his sons, sons of Ibn Saud are considered to have primary claim on the throne of Saudi Arabia. This makes the Saudi monarchy quite distinct from Western monarchies, which feature large, clearly defined royal families. The current Crown Prince is the first grandson of Ibn Saud to be in the line of succession, Saudi Arabia is ruled by Islamic law and purports to be an Islamic state, but many Muslims see a hereditary monarchy as being a discouraged system of government in Islam. The King of Saudi Arabia is also considered the Head of the House of Saud, the Crown Prince is also the Deputy Prime Minister. The kings after Faisal have named a second Deputy Prime Minister as the subsequent heir after the Crown Prince. Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, born 30 August 1959, son of Nayef bin Abdulaziz and Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jiluwi Al Saud, Grandson of Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi. Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, born 31 August 1985, son of King Salman, the Royal Standard 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. The script on the flag is written in the Thuluth script, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Succession to the Saudi Arabian throne List of rulers of Saudi Arabia
King of Saudi Arabia
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King of Saudi Arabia
King of Saudi Arabia
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Emblem of Saudi Arabia
King of Saudi Arabia
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Ibn Saud
King of Saudi Arabia
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سعود
2.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
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The title refers to the ruler taking the responsibility of guarding and maintaining the two holiest mosques in Islam, Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi in Medina. It is believed that the first person to use the title was Saladin, after defeating the Mamluks and gaining control of the two Muslim holy cities, Mecca and Medina in 1517, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I adopted the title. Rather than style himself the Ḥākimül-Ḥaremeyn, he accepted the more pious title Ḫādimül-Ḥaremeyn and this title was used by all subsequent Ottoman Caliph Sultans until Mehmed VI, the last. The first King of Saudi Arabia to assume the title was Fahd bin Abdul Aziz in 1986 and he replaced the term His Majesty with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The reigning king, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, took the title after the death of King Abdullah, his half brother
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
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Selim I 9th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
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Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud King of Saudi Arabia
3.
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
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The Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia is the chair of the Council of Ministers and formal Head of Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since the reign of King Faisal, the post has been held by the King of Saudi Arabia, the office was created along with the Council of Ministers on 9 October 1953, by decree of King Saud. Due to unrest within the family over his rule, Saud was forced to appoint his half-brother, Crown Prince Faisal. An ongoing power struggle between the two led to Faisals resignation in 1960, allowing Saud to reclaim the reins of government, after the deposition of Saud in 1964, Faisal succeeded him as king, while remaining prime minister. Since then the two offices have been merged, royal Favorites achieved power to become de facto prime ministers. The current one is the Kings son Mohammad, who is his fathers top aide, Crown Prince Abdullah,21 February 1996 –1 August 2005, regent for King Fahd
Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia
4.
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from 2005 to his death in 2015. He ascended to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, Abdullah, like Fahd, was one of the many sons of Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. Abdullah held important political posts throughout most of his adult life, in 1961 he became mayor of Mecca, his first public office. The following year, he was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard and he also served as deputy defense minister and was named crown prince when Fahd took the throne in 1982. After King Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, Abdullah became the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia until ascending the throne a decade later. During his reign he maintained relations with United States and United Kingdom. He also gave women the right to vote for municipal councils, furthermore, Abdullah maintained the status quo when there were waves of protest in the kingdom during the Arab Spring. In November 2013, a BBC report claimed that, due to the relations it had with Pakistan. The King outlived two of his crown princes, conservative Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was named heir to the throne on the death of Sultan bin Abdulaziz in October 2011, but Nayef himself died in June 2012. Abdullah then named 76-year-old defense minister, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, according to various reports, Abdullah married up to 30 times, and had more than 35 children. The king had a fortune estimated at US$18 billion, making him the third wealthiest head of state in the world. He died on 23 January 2015, at the age of 90, Abdullah is said to have been born on 1 August 1924 in Riyadh. However, some state that this date is incorrect. He was the son of King Abdulaziz. His mother, Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim, was a member of the Al Rashid dynasty and she was descended from the powerful Shammar tribe – and was the daughter of former tribe chief, Asi Shuraim. She died when Abdullah was six years old, madawi Al-Rasheed argues that his maternal roots and his earlier experience of a speech impediment led to delay in his rise to higher status among the other sons of King Abdulaziz. In 1963, Abdullah was made commander of Saudi National Guard and this post allowed him to secure his position in the House of Saud. SANG, which had based on the Ikhwan, became a modern armed force under his command
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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King Abdullah in January 2007
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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King Abdullah when he was a child.
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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King Abdullah as Commander of
Saudi National Guard
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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Abdullah with US Vice President
Dan Quayle
5.
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
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Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is a member of House of Saud who served as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from January to April 2015. He was Director General of Al Mukhabarat Al Aamah from 2005 to 2012, in July 2012, Muqrin was appointed King Abdullahs Advisor and Special Envoy with the rank of minister. On 1 February 2013, King Abdullah named him as Second Deputy Prime Minister and this post was previously held by King Fahd, King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan, and Crown Prince Nayef. On 27 March 2014, he was named Deputy Crown Prince making him second in the line of succession behind his brother Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. On 23 January 2015, upon King Abdullahs death and the accession of King Salman, Muqrin became Crown Prince, on 29 April 2015, King Salman replaced Prince Muqrin with Prince Muhammad bin Nayef as Crown Prince. Muqrin bin Abdulaziz was born in Riyadh on 15 September 1945 and he is the 35th and, following the death of his younger half-brother Hamoud in 1994, the youngest surviving son of King Abdulaziz. His mother, Baraka Al Yamaniyah, was Yemeni, who was the eighteenth spouse of King Abdulaziz. Muqrin studied at the Riyadh Model Institute and he, then, went to Britains RAF College in Cranwell and graduated with a degree in aeronautics at the rank of flight lieutenant in 1968. He also received a diploma, equivalent to a masters degree, Muqrin bin Abdulaziz was an air force pilot. In 1965, he joined the Saudi Royal Air Force and he was named commander of the RSAFs 2nd air squadron in 1970. He had served in positions in the RSAF from 1973 to 1977 before being appointed the adjutant to the director of air operations. He then was elevated to president of operations and planning for the RSAF and he left the RSAF in 1980. On 18 March 1980, King Khalid appointed Prince Muqrin as governor of Hail, on 24 November 1999, he was appointed governor of Madinah Province as a successor to his late brother, Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz. King Fahd later ordered him to modernize the city in response to a wave of anti-government, Prince Muqrin developed the education and health care services offered in remote regions. Considered a traditionalist, Prince Muqrin worked to promote traditional values during his appointments as governor and he remained in office until October 2005. Abdulaziz bin Majid succeeded him as governor of Madinah Province, on 22 October 2005, King Abdullah appointed Prince Muqrin as director general of Saudi Arabias intelligence agency Al Mukhabarat Al Aamah. His appointment occurred nine months after the resignation of the director general Prince Nawwaf. Prince Muqrin organized a conference on combating internet militancy, particularly used by al Qaeda in 2007 and he further declared that Al Mukhabarat al Aamah would set a website to inform citizens about threats to security
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
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Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
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Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz during his service in
the Saudi Royal Air Force (RSAF)
Muqrin bin Abdulaziz
6.
Muhammad bin Nayef
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Muhammad bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the Crown Prince, First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior of Saudi Arabia. He is also the chairman of the new Council for Political, on 29 April 2015, he was appointed heir apparent by King Salman. As Crown Prince, he is first in line to the throne of Saudi Arabia and he is a member of the House of Saud and a nephew of King Salman. If he ascends to the throne, as a grandson of King Abdulaziz he will be the first king of the generation in Saudi Arabia. Prince Muhammad was born in Jeddah on 30 August 1959 and he is the second eldest son and one of ten children of Prince Nayef. Prince Saud is his brother and Prince Fahd is his younger brother. Their mother is Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed Al Jiluwi who is a member of the Al Jiluwi branch of the House of Saud, Muhammad bin Nayef studied in the United States. He took courses at Lewis & Clark College but did not receive a degree and he attended the FBIs security courses from 1985 to 1988, and was trained at Scotland Yards anti-terrorism units from 1992 to 1994. Muhammad bin Nayef was appointed assistant interior minister for security affairs in 1999 and he had been a businessman before this appointment. He was widely credited for the success of the Ministrys counter-terrorism program and he was also regarded as the architect of the governments counter-insurgency program. He also served as the director of defense during his term as assistant minister. He was considered to be an effective assistant interior minister, in 2004, he was appointed to the rank of minister, becoming number two at the ministry of interior. In October 2010, he warned the U. S. Deputy National Security Adviser of the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot. After the appointment of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as interior minister upon the death of Prince Nayef in July 2012, in November 2009, King Abdullah appointed Muhammad as a member of the influential Supreme Economic Council of Saudi Arabia. This move was regarded as approval of the increase in then-Crown Prince Nayefs power by King Abdullah, on the other hand, this appointment enables Prince Muhammad to extend his influence over the governments economy policy. On 5 November 2012, King Abdullah issued a decree and dismissed Prince Ahmed, minister of interior, from his office. He became the interior minister of Saudi Arabia. Prince Muhammad took the oath of office in front of King Abdullah on 6 November 2012, however, he is regarded as less corrupt and less likely to personally abuse his power in comparison to other senior princes of his generation
Muhammad bin Nayef
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Muhammad bin Nayef
7.
Riyadh
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Riyadh is the capital and most populous city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province and belongs to the regions of Najd. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, the current mayor of Riyadh is Ibrahim Mohammed Al-Sultan. He was appointed mayor in 2015 and it has been designated a global city. During the Pre-Islamic era the city at the site was called Hajr, Hajr served as the capital of the province of Al Yamamah, whose governors were responsible for most of central and eastern Arabia during the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. Al-Yamamah broke away from the Abbasid Empire in 866 and the area fell under the rule of the Ukhaydhirites, the city then went into a long period of decline. In the 14th century, North African traveller Ibn Battuta wrote of his visit to Hajr, describing it as the city of Al-Yamamah. Later on, Hajr broke up several separate settlements and estates. The most notable of these were Migrin and Mikal, though the name Hajr continued to appear in local folk poetry, the earliest known reference to the area by the name Riyadh comes from a 17th-century chronicler reporting on an event from the year 1590. In 1737, Deham ibn Dawwas, a refugee from neighboring Manfuha, Ibn Dawwas built a single wall to encircle the various quarters of Riyadh, making them effectively a single town. In 1744, Muhammad ibn Abdel Wahhab formed an alliance with Muhammad ibn Saud, Ibn Saud then set out to conquer the surrounding region with the goal of bringing it under the rule of a single Islamic state. Ibn Dawwas of Riyadh led the most determined resistance, allied forces from Al Kharj, Al Ahsa. However, Ibn Dawwas fled and Riyadh capitulated to the Saudis in 1774, ending years of wars. The First Saudi State was destroyed by forces sent by Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Ottoman forces razed the Saudi capital Diriyah in 1818. They had maintained a garrison at Najd and this marked the decline of the House of Saud for a short time. In 1823, Turki ibn Abdallah chose Riyadh as the new capital, following the assassination of Turki in 1834, his eldest son Faisal killed the assassin and took control, and refused to be controlled by the Viceroy of Egypt. Najd was then invaded and Faisal taken captive and held in Cairo, in 1889, Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, the third son of Faisal again regained control over Najd and ruled till 1891, where after the control was regained by Muhammad bin Raschid. Internecine struggles between Turkis grandsons led to the fall of the Second Saudi State in 1891 at the hand of the rival Al Rashid clan, the al-Masmak fort dates from that period
Riyadh
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Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh
8.
Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud
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Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud is the deputy crown prince of Saudi Arabia and the youngest minister of defense in the world. Mohammad is also chief of the House of Saud royal court and he has been described as the power behind the throne of his father, King Salman. Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud was born on 31 August 1985 in Jeddah and he is the son of King Salman from his third spouse, Fahda bint Falah bin Sultan Al Hithalayn. He is their eldest son and is brother of Turki bin Salman, former chairman of the Saudi Research. Prince Mohammad holds a degree in law from King Saud University. After graduating college, Mohammad bin Salman spent several years in the sector before becoming the personal aide of his father. He worked as a consultant for the Experts Commission, working for the Saudi Cabinet, on 15 December 2009, Mohammad bin Salman entered politics as a special advisor to his father when the latter was the governor of Riyadh Province. In June 2012, the Crown Prince, Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, died and he soon began remaking the court in his own image. On 2 March 2013, the chief of the Crown Prince court Prince Saud bin Nayef was appointed governor of the Eastern Province and Prince Mohammad succeeded him in the post and he was also given the rank of minister. On 25 April 2014 Prince Mohammad was appointed state minister, on 23 January 2015, King Abdullah died, Salman took the throne and Prince Mohammad was appointed minister of defense. He was also named as the general of the Royal Court on the same date. In addition he retained his post as the minister of the state, during the campaign Prince bin Salman went on vacation in the Maldives, where United States Secretary of Defense Ash Carter had trouble reaching him for days. According to the UN and human groups, direct war crimes were committed during the conflict. In April 2015 King Salman appointed one of his nephews, Mohammed bin Nayef. At the same time King Salman appointed his son Prince Mohammed as deputy crown prince. In late 2015, Prince bin Salman attended a meeting between King Salman and United States President Barack Obama, where the prince broke protocol to deliver a monologue criticizing U. S. foreign policy. After Prince bin Salman announced an anti-terrorist military alliance of Islamic countries in December 2015, on 4 January 2016, Prince Mohammad gave his first on-the-record interview, while talking to The Economist. On 10 January 2016, The Independent reported that the BND, portrayed Saudi defence minister and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. as a political gambler who is destabilising the Arab world through proxy wars in Yemen and Syria
Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud
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Prince Mohammed
Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud
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Prince Mohammad with U.S. Secretary of State
John Kerry, 7 May 2015
Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud
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Prince Mohammad with Russian President
Vladimir Putin, 18 June 2015
9.
Turki bin Salman Al Saud
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Turki bin Salman Al Saud is a Saudi businessman and a member of the House of Saud and chairman of Tharawat Holding. On 9 February 2013, he was appointed chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, prince Turkis term as chairman ended in April 2014 when he resigned from the post. Prince Turki is one of King Salmans sons, prince Turkis mother is Fahda bint Falah Al Hithalayn, who is the third spouse of King Salman. He is full brother of Mohammad bin Salman, defense minister, prince Turki received a bachelors degree in marketing from King Saud University. He was appointed chairman of the Saudi Research and Marketing Group and he replaced his half-brother Faisal bin Salman. Prince Turkis term as chairman ended in April 2014 when he resigned from the post
Turki bin Salman Al Saud
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Turki bin Sultan
10.
Abdulaziz bin Salman
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Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the assistant oil minister of Saudi Arabia and a member of the House of Saud. Prince Abdulaziz was born in 1960 and he is the fourth son of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, King of Saudi Arabia. His mother is Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi, who died at age 71 in July 2011 and she was the daughter of Prince Salmans uncle, Turki bin Ahmad Al Sudairi, who was formerly the governor of Asir Province. Abdulaziz bin Salman is the brother of late Fahd bin Salman, late Ahmed bin Salman, Sultan bin Salman, Faisal bin Salman. Abdulaziz bin Salman received a degree in industrial administration from King Fahd University of Petroleum. He also holds an MBA in industrial administration from the university in 1985. Later, he served as the manager of the economic and industrial research division at the same institute, in 1987, he became an advisor at the oil ministry. During his tenure, he is said to have had relations with the then minister. Prince Abdulaziz was promoted to deputy oil minister in June 1995 and he was also appointed undersecratary for petroleum affairs, a body founded in June 1996. In addition, he is the head of the energy rationalization committee and his term as deputy oil minister lasted until 2005 and he was appointed assistant oil minister. As assistant oil minister, Prince Abdulaziz is regarded as a significant figure in Saudi politics since he deals directly with the Kingdoms major source of income and he is said to be popular and has supporters who have benefited from their support of him and his father, King Salman. Prince Abdulaziz is considered to be one of the key players in Saudi Arabia when the grandsons of Ibn Saud begin to rule the country. He is also considered to be a successor to the oil minister. Prince Abdulaziz is a member of the board of governors of the organizations, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Oxford Energy Policy Club. He is honorary president of the Saudi Economic Association and he is also the supervisor-general of the Prince Fahd bin Salman Charity Association for Renal Failure Patients Care. Abdulaziz bin Salman is married to Sara bint Khalid bin Musaad bin Abdulaziz
Abdulaziz bin Salman
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Abdulaziz bin Salman
11.
Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
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Faisal bin Salman is a member of the House of Saud and governor of Madinah province in Saudi Arabia. Prince Faisal was born in Jeddah on 25 December 1970 and he is the fifth son of Salman bin Abdulaziz, the King of Saudi Arabia, who had previously been the minister of defense since November 2011 and Crown Prince since June 2012. His mother is Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi, who died in July 2011 and she was a daughter of King Salmans uncle, Turki bin Ahmad Al Sudairi, who was formerly the governor of Asir Province. Faisal is a brother of Prince Fahd, Prince Ahmed, Prince Sultan, Prince Abdulaziz. Faisal bin Salman holds a degree in political science from King Saud University. He received a PhD from Oxford University in 1999 and his PhD thesis was titled Iran, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, Power Politics in Transition 1968-1971, and was published I. B. Tauris in 2003. Before embarking on a career, Faisal bin Salman was a professor of political science at King Saud University. He studied especially political relations in the Persian Gulf region among the others during his academic career, during this period he was a research fellow at Georgetown University. He was reported to own around seven percent of the company, Faisal bin Salman is the owner of Arab News, Asharq Al-Awsat and Al Eqtisadiah. It is reported that all these publications take a pro-government position, on the other hand, these papers are among publications owned by Saudi Research and Publishing Company, which is an affiliated body of SRMG. Faisal bin Salman began to publish a new magazine through SRMG that is an Arabic translation of the magazine Robb Report, SRMG also publishes an Islamic finance magazine and translations of Italys design magazine Domus. In addition, the company is planning to publish other translations including Better Homes, Prince Faisal also established a school for training journalists and other media people. He has been the chairman of Jadwa Investment, a Riyadh-based leading Saudi investment bank, after his appointment as governor of Madinah Province, Faisal bin Salman was succeeded by his half-brother, Turki bin Salman, as chairman of the SRMG. On 14 January 2013, Faisal bin Salman was appointed governor of Madinah province at the rank of minister, Prince Faisal joined the council of The International Institute for Strategic Studies in 2009. He is also chairman of the board of social responsibility in Riyadh, in addition, he chairs the executive committee of “Ensan Society” that deals with various support programs for orphans. Faisal bin Salman stated in 2007 that social change in Saudi Arabia had to be slow, Faisal bin Salman was named The Man of the Year 2004 in business by Arabian Business in 2004. He was also named Media Personality of the Year by the Arab Media Forum in 2009 and his brothers Prince Fahd and Prince Ahmed, both deceased, were involved in thoroughbred horse racing. After the death of Prince Ahmed in 2002, Prince Faisal succeeded him as the head of The Thoroughbred Corporation, in addition, he owns Belgrave Bloodstock in England
Faisal bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
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Faisal bin Salman
12.
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud
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Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is a former Royal Saudi Air Force pilot who flew aboard the American STS-51-G Space Shuttle mission as a payload specialist, and a member of the House of Saud. He is thus the first member of a family to be an astronaut. Sultan was born in Riyadh on 27 June 1956 and he is the second son of King Salman. His older brother Fahad was born July 20,1955 and died in 2000 and his mother is Sultana bint Turki Al Sudairi who died in July 2011. and Prince Sultan is a full brother of Fahd, Ahmed, Abdulaziz, Faisal and Hussa. Sultan completed his elementary and secondary education in Riyadh and he received a masters degree in social and political science with distinction from Syracuse University in 1999. Sultan bin Salman started his career in 1982 as a researcher in the department of communications at the Ministry of Information in Saudi Arabia. He served as deputy director of the Saudi media committee for the Saudi athletes participating in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, later that year, the department of TV advertising was created at the Ministry of Information, and he was appointed its acting director. From 17 June through 24 June 1985, he flew as a payload specialist on STS-51-G Discovery, Sultan also holds the record for being the youngest person to fly on the Space Shuttle, at the age of 28. In 1985, Sultan recorded a message that was broadcast on MTV during the Live Aid concert event. His message mentioned his recent trip on the Space Shuttle and was one of 33 such by notable individuals including Caesar Chavez, Coretta Scott King, Carl Sagan, Jesse Jackson and Peter Ueberroth. Sultan bin Salman served in the Royal Saudi Air Force beginning in 1985 and he retired from the air force in 1996 with the rank of colonel. Since 2009 Sultan bin Salman has served as the President and Chairman of the Board with the rank of a Minister of the Saudi Commission for Tourism & National Heritage and he had served as the Commissions Secretary General since its inception in 2000. It is claimed that as Secretary-General, he contributed significantly to the improvement of Saudi Arabias tourism strategy, co-Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, King Salman Center for Disability Research, KSA. Here the state is the citizen and the citizen is the state, there is no division between the leadership and the citizens. ”He believes in building partnerships in all that is accomplished and have always advocated the importance of the role of local communities. Sultan bin Salman is married to the daughter of Saud bin Faisal and he enjoys flying, gliding and skiing in his spare time. Sultan owns a farm in Diriyah which is a model of modern facilities in a historical setting and his farm reflects his attempt to retrace the origins of the Al Saud family, and to document the Al Sauds claims over the Najd. Leadership Award presented by the Arab Hotel Investment Conference on May 4,2014, CEO KSA Award for Tourism & Hospitality presented by the Arabian Budiness Magazine on 2012. Chancellor’s Medal by Syracuse University on November 16,2012 for his key role in helping to launch a partnership between SU and Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud
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Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud
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Portrait of STS 51-G crew
Sultan bin Salman Al Saud
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Patrick Baudry and Prince Sultan in 1985
13.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
Dynasty
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Charles I of England and his son, the future
James II
14.
House of Saud
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The House of Saud is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. The family has thousands of members, the most influential member of the Royal family is the King of Saudi Arabia, currently King Salman. The succession to the Saudi Arabian throne was designed to pass from one son of the first king, Ibn Saud, to another. The next in line, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef is also from the ruling House of Saud, while the monarchy is hereditary now, future Saudi kings will be chosen by a committee of Saudi princes, in line with a 2006 royal decree. The family is estimated to comprise 15,000 members, but the majority of the power, House of Saud is a translation of Al Saud. The latter is an Arabic dynastic name formed by adding the word Al, meaning family of or House of, in the case of the Al Saud, this is Saud ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin, the father of the dynastys 18th century founder, Muhammad bin Saud. Today, the surname Al Saud is carried by any descendant of Muhammad bin Saud or his three brothers Farhan, Thunayyan, and Mishari. Al Sauds other family branches like Saud al-Kabir, the Al Jiluwi, the Al Thunayan, the Al Mishari, members of the cadet branches hold high and influential positions in government though they are not in line of succession to Saudi throne. Many cadet members intermarry within the Al Saud to reestablish their lineage, the earliest recorded ancestor of the Al Saud was Mani ibn Rabiah Al-Muraydi who settled in Diriyah in 1446–1447 with his clan, the Mrudah. Although the Mrudah are believed to be descended from the Rabiah tribal confederation, Mani was invited by a relative named Ibn Dir. Ibn Dir was the ruler of a set of villages and estates that make up modern-day Riyadh, manis clan had been on a sojourn in east Arabia, near al-Qatif, from an unknown point in time. Ibn Dir handed Mani two estates called al-Mulaybeed and Ghusayba, Mani and his family settled and renamed the region al-Diriyah, after their benefactor Ibn Dir. The Mrudah became rulers of al-Diriyah, which prospered along the banks of Wadi Hanifa, as the clan grew larger, power struggles ensued, with one branch leaving for nearby Dhruma, while another branch left for the town of az-Zubayr in southern Iraq. The Al Migrin became the family among the Mrudah in Diriyah. The name of the clan comes from Sheikh Saud ibn Muhammad ibn Muqrin who died in 1725, the First Saudi State was founded in 1744. This period was marked by conquest of neighboring areas and by religious zeal, at its height, the First Saudi State included most of the territory of modern-day Saudi Arabia, and raids by Al Sauds allies and followers reached into Yemen, Oman, Syria, and Iraq. Islamic Scholars, particularly Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab and his descendants, are believed to have played a significant role in Saudi rule during this period, the Saudis and their allies referred to themselves during this period as the Muwahhidun or Ahl al-Tawhid. Later they were referred to as the Wahhabis, a group of particularly strict Sunni, leadership of the Al Saud during the time of their first state passed from father to son without incident
House of Saud
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Ibn Saud
House of Saud
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House of Saud
House of Saud
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U.S. President
Barack Obama offers condolences on death of Saudi King Abdullah,
Riyadh, 27 January 2015
House of Saud
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Deputy Crown Prince and Defence Minister
Mohammad with U.S. Secretary of Defense
Ashton Carter, Pentagon, 13 May 2015
15.
Ibn Saud
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He reconquered his familys ancestral home city of Riyadh in 1902, starting three decades of conquests that made him the ruler of nearly all of central Arabia. He consolidated his control over the Najd in 1922, then conquered the Hejaz in 1925 and he extended his dominions into, what later became, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. As King, he presided over the discovery of petroleum in Saudi Arabia in 1938 and he fathered many children, including 45 sons, and all of the subsequent kings of Saudi Arabia. Ibn Saud was born on 15 January 1875 in Riyadh in the region of Najd in central Arabia and he was the son of Abdul Rahman bin Faisal, last ruler of the Emirate of Nejd, the Second Saudi State, a tribal sheikhdom centered on Riyadh. His family, the House of Saud, had been a power in central Arabia for the previous 130 years, Ibn Sauds mother was a member of the Sudairi family, Sarah Al Sudairi. In 1890, the House of Sauds long-term regional rivals, the Rashidis, Ibn Saud was 15 at the time. He and his family took refuge with the Al Murrah. Later, the Al Sauds moved to Qatar and stayed there for two months and their next stop was Bahrain, where they stayed briefly. Their final destination was Kuwait, where lived for nearly a decade. As the raid proved profitable, it attracted more participants, the raiders numbers peaked at over 200, but numbers dwindled over the ensuing months. In the autumn, the made camp in the Yabrin oasis. While observing Ramadan, he decided to attack Riyadh and retake it from the Al Rashid, on the night of 15 January 1902, he led 40 men over the walls of the city on tilted palm trees and took the city. The Rashidi governor of the city, Ajlan, was killed in front of his own fortress, the Saudi recapture of the city marked the beginning of the Third Saudi State. Following the capture of Riyadh, many supporters of the House of Saud rallied to Ibn Sauds call to arms. He was a leader and kept his men supplied with arms. Over the next two years, he and his forces recaptured almost half of the Najd from the Rashidis, in 1904, Abdulaziz of Al Rashid appealed to the Ottoman Empire for military protection and assistance. The Ottomans responded by sending troops into Arabia, on 15 June 1904, Ibn Sauds forces suffered a major defeat at the hands of the combined Ottoman and Rashidi forces. His forces regrouped and began to wage guerrilla warfare against the Ottomans, over the next two years, he was able to disrupt their supply routes, forcing them to retreat
Ibn Saud
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King Abdulaziz in 1927
Ibn Saud
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King Ibn Saud converses with President
Franklin D. Roosevelt (right) through
interpreter Colonel Bill Eddy, on board the
USS Quincy, after the
Yalta Conference.
Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy (left) watches.
Ibn Saud
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Ibn Saud in 1934
Ibn Saud
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Ibn Saud and Iraqi
King Faisal in 1922.
16.
Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi
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Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi was one of the favorite wives of King Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia. Hussa bint Ahmed was a member of the influential Al Sudairi family from Najd, the family are part of the noble Dawasir tribe. The mother of King Abdulaziz, Sarah Al Sudairi, was also a member of the Sudairi family. Hussas father, Ahmed bin Muhammed Al Sudairi, was a chief of the Sudairi tribe. Following the formation of the state, her father served as governor in Washm, Sudair, Qassim and her brothers were also appointed by King Abdulaziz as governors. Khalid bin Ahmed also served as the governor of Najran Province and also, Hussa bint Ahmed was born in 1900. She was his 8th wife, and first cousin once removed via Ahmed Al Kabir bin Mohammed bin Turki Al Sudairi and their first marriage was in 1913 when she was thirteen years. In the period between their first and second marriages, Hussa bint Ahmed married King Abdulaziz’s younger half brother, Hussa had a son from this marriage, Abdullah bin Mohammad. It is assumed that Ibn Saud remained in love with Hussa bint Ahmed, Hussa bint Ahmed and King Abdulaziz remained married until the latters death in 1953. Hussa bint Ahmed and King Abdulaziz had many children, seven of whom are sons, no other spouse of King Abdulaziz produced more sons than Hussa Al Sudairi. Hussa bint Ahmed became the most valued spouse of King Abdulaziz due to being mother of seven sons, in Arab culture, the most prominent wife is the one who gives birth to the largest number of sons. Therefore, Hussa had the advantage of being a Mother of Boys and their sons are known as the Sudairi Seven. They were also called the magnificent seven, Al Jawhara bint Abdulaziz is Khalid bin Abdullahs spouse and Jawahir bint Abdulaziz was Mohammad bin Abdullahs wife. Luluwah bint Abdulaziz is the mother of Abdullah bin Faisal bin Turki, in addition to being the mother of seven sons, Hussa bint Ahmed had personal characteristics that made her the most valued spouse of King Abdulaziz. Firstly, she was beautiful and had charm and a strong personality. She was also influential, and attempted to instill a sense of feeling among her sons. She raised all of her children in an atmosphere and urged them to hang together. In addition, she had effects on some decisions of King Abdulaziz, for instance, she urged him to make Prince Fahd a member of his advisory board, and Prince Fahd became a member of the board
Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi
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Hassa Al Sudairi
17.
Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia is bordered by Jordan and Iraq to the north, Kuwait to the northeast, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to the east, Oman to the southeast and Yemen to the south. It is separated from Israel and Egypt by the Gulf of Aqaba and it is the only nation with both a Red Sea coast and a Persian Gulf coast and most of its terrain consists of arid desert and mountains. The area of modern-day Saudi Arabia formerly consisted of four regions, Hejaz, Najd and parts of Eastern Arabia. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932 by Ibn Saud and he united the four regions into a single state through a series of conquests beginning in 1902 with the capture of Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud. Saudi Arabia has since been a monarchy, effectively a hereditary dictatorship governed along Islamic lines. The ultraconservative Wahhabi religious movement within Sunni Islam has been called the predominant feature of Saudi culture, with its global spread largely financed by the oil and gas trade. Saudi Arabia is sometimes called the Land of the Two Holy Mosques in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, the state has a total population of 28.7 million, of which 20 million are Saudi nationals and 8 million are foreigners. The states official language is Arabic, petroleum was discovered on 3 March 1938 and followed up by several other finds in the Eastern Province. Saudi Arabia has since become the worlds largest oil producer and exporter, controlling the second largest oil reserves. The kingdom is categorized as a World Bank high-income economy with a high Human Development Index and is the only Arab country to be part of the G-20 major economies. However, the economy of Saudi Arabia is the least diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, the state has attracted criticism for its treatment of women and use of capital punishment. Saudi Arabia is an autocracy, has the fourth highest military expenditure in the world. Saudi Arabia is considered a regional and middle power, in addition to the GCC, it is an active member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and OPEC. Following the unification of the Hejaz and Nejd kingdoms, the new state was named al-Mamlakah al-ʻArabīyah as-Suʻūdīyah by royal decree on 23 September 1932 by its founder, Abdulaziz Al Saud. Although this is translated as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in English it literally means the Saudi Arab kingdom. Its inclusion expresses the view that the country is the possession of the royal family. Al Saud is an Arabic name formed by adding the word Al, meaning family of or House of, in the case of the Al Saud, this is the father of the dynastys 18th century founder, Muhammad bin Saud. There is evidence that human habitation in the Arabian Peninsula dates back to about 125,000 years ago
Saudi Arabia
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Abdul Aziz
Ibn Saud, the first king of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
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Flag
Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabia political map
Saudi Arabia
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Saudi Arabian administrative regions and roadways map.
18.
Arabic language
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
Arabic language
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The Galland Manuscript of
One Thousand and One Nights, 14th century
Arabic language
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al-ʿArabiyyah in written Arabic (
Naskh script)
Arabic language
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Bilingual traffic sign in
Qatar.
Arabic language
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Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.
19.
Riyadh Province
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The Riyadh Region is a region of Saudi Arabia, also called Al-Wosta, located in the center of the country. It has an area of 404,240 km² and a population of 6,777,146 and its capital is the city of Riyadh, which is also the national capital. More than 75% of the population of the province resides within Riyadh, according to the 2004 census,1,728,840 of the provinces population is non-Saudi, with 1,444,500 of those living within the provincial capital, Riyadh. Yabrin Riyadh Principality Riyadh Principality A travel through the province of Riyadh, A travel site with photos and routes Official Saudi census figures from 2004
Riyadh Province
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Al-'Uyayna is a village in central Saudi Arabia
20.
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
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The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is the second most important position in Saudi Arabia, second to the king, and is his designated successor. Currently, the Crown Prince assumes power with the approval of the Allegiance Commission after he is appointed by the king and this system was introduced to the country in the Abdullah Era. In the absence of the king, an order is issued to have the prince manage the affairs of the state until the kings return. The order changes the title temporarily from the Crown Prince. The last Crown prince of the Second Saudi State was Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Ramhan ibn Saud and his father abdicated the pretended throne to him in 1900, and began his famous wars of conquest of what would become the third Saudi state. When had taken enough land to become recognized as a genuine Emir, when Turki died during the flu pandemic of 1919, his only child was still in utero, and Abdulaziz designated his second son Saud to be heir and that further succession would be brother to brother. When the Unification of Saudi Arabia was complete in 1932, Abdulaziz had himself declared king, when the old king died in 1953, Saud became king and his brother Faisal, as planned was declared Crown Prince. The King and his heir began feuding over whether or not King Saud was competent or not, Feisal took the title Prime Minister for a while, and on occasion took over the government against the kings wishes. Saud fought back, and things came to a head in 1964, the next in Line, Prince Mohammed, was deemed unsuitable, and was de jure Crown Prince for a short time before he was deposed in favor of Prince Khalid in 1965. With Khalid not all interested in being king, his crown prince, Fahd. When King Fahd had a stroke in 1995, Crown Prince Abdullah became the formal Regent for the balance of the reign, as the nation became a gerontocracy in the 2000s and early 10s, three Crown Princes died of old age in rapid succession. In the meantime, more and more princes were passed over, in January 2015, Ibn Sauds last son, Muqrin, became Crown Prince, only to be ousted three months later in favor of his nephew, Mohammed bin Nayef. When King Faisal was murdered in 1975, King Khalid designated Prince Abdullah, as King Khalid became ill with old age, the question of who would succeed Abdullah as Second Deputy became more pressing. Prince Musaid, whose son had murdered King Faisal, long knew he was out and Prince Bandar demanded and got, Prince Sultan, despite opposition, was appointed when the old king died. Once a Princes place was cemented in the line of succession, Prince Sultan attempted a coup against Crown Prince Abdullah, who was regent for the ailing King Fahd, in 1995, and he remained in place until he became Crown Prince in 2005. Competition for the position became intense when Fahd, then Sultan died a few years later, the youngest brother of all, Muqrin, became second deputy in 2013, and received the honorific deputy crown prince a year later. With the internal politics of the House of Saud being clear as mud the seniority system came to an end when scores of grandsons were bypassed in favor of Muhammad bin Nayef, succession to the Saudi Arabian throne King of Saudi Arabia
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
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Incumbent
Muhammad bin Nayef since 29 April 2015
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
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Emblem of Saudi Arabia
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
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سعود
Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia
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فيصل
21.
Nayef bin Abdulaziz
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Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, also spelled Naif or Naeif, 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, Nayef bin Abdulaziz was born in Taif in 1934 to Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, making him one of the Sudairi Seven. He was the son of King Abdulaziz. Prince Nayef received education at Princes School and from senior ulema, additionally, he was educated in diplomacy and security affairs. From 1952 to 1953, Prince Nayef served as governor of Riyadh Province. In 1953, he was appointed as the governor of Riyadh province and he then served as governor of Madinah Province. In 1970, King Faisal appointed him to both deputy interior minister and minister of state for internal affairs, in March 1975, after King Faisals assassination, then-minister of interior Prince Fahd became the crown prince and Prince Nayef was appointed as the minister of interior by King Khalid. In December 1994, he ordered hundreds of terrorism-related arrests with the support of Prince Turki, in April 2001, he, not foreign minister Saud al Faisal, went to Iran as Saudi envoy in an unprecedented move. He issued all women in Saudi Arabia identity cards, women were previously registered under their husbands or fathers name in November 2001. In 2003, Prince Nayef, who was in charge of labor, decreed that foreign workers. Senator Charles Schumer lobbied through Prince Bandar to remove Prince Nayef as Minister of Interior in July 2003 and his political stance was strengthened because of increased media exposure and the successful end to terrorist attacks. In March 2011, during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests,200 people who called for information on their imprisoned relatives were denied a meeting with Nayef. Therefore, on 27 March 2009, Prince Nayef became second deputy prime minister and his appointment caused a rare public split in the royal family. Prince Talal asked the King to clarify that the appointment did not necessarily mean that Nayef would become Crown Prince and his appointment as second deputy prime minister expanded Prince Nayefs influence into all corners of Saudi domestic policy and allowed him to participate in the development of foreign policy. He was not expected to interfere in matters, but to influence the judiciary. Prince Nayef chaired many cabinet meetings when King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan were away for health reasons, critics said he was behind the cancellation of the nations only film festival in the summer of 2009. In November 2010, he undertook all Hajj-related responsibilities, in some government offices, his picture was added next to King Abdulaziz, King Abdullah, and Crown Prince Sultan. Prince Nayef was appointed Crown Prince and first deputy minister by King Abdullah on 27 October 2011, five days after the death of his full brother
Nayef bin Abdulaziz
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Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud نايف بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود
Nayef bin Abdulaziz
22.
Operation Decisive Storm
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Code-named Operation Decisive Storm, the intervention initially consisted of a bombing campaign on Houthi Rebels and later saw a naval blockade and the deployment of ground forces into Yemen. Fighter jets and ground forces from Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia made their airspace, territorial waters and military bases available to the coalition. The United States provided intelligence and logistical support, including aerial refueling and it also accelerated the sale of weapons to coalition states. US and Britain have deployed their military personnel in the command and control centre responsible for Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen, Pakistan was called on by Saudi Arabia to join the coalition, but its parliament voted to maintain neutrality. On 21 April 2015, the Saudi-led military coalition announced an end to Operation Decisive Storm, the kingdom and its coalition partners said they would be launching political and peace efforts, which they called Operation Restoring Hope. However, the coalition did not rule out using force, saying it would respond to threats, the war has received widespread criticism and had a dramatic worsening effect on the humanitarian situation, that reached the level of a humanitarian disaster or humanitarian catastrophe. On 1 July UN declared for Yemen a level-three emergency – the highest UN emergency level – for a period of six months, Human rights groups repeatedly blamed the Saudi-led military coalition for killing civilians and destroying health centers and other infrastructure with airstrikes. The de facto blockade left 78% of the Yemeni population in urgent need of food, water, aid ships are allowed, but the bulk of commercial shipping, on which the country relies, is blocked. In one occasion, coalition jets prevented an Iranian Red Crescent plane from landing by bombing Sanaa International Airports runway, as of 10 December, more than 2,500,000 people had been internally displaced by the fighting. Many countries evacuated more than 23,000 foreign citizens from Yemen, more than 1,000,000 people fled Yemen for Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Oman. Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, running unopposed for president, won the 2012 Yemeni elections, the Houthis, a Zaidi Shia movement and militant group thought to be backed by Iran, took control of the Yemeni government through a series of actions in 2014 and 2015. Saudi Arabia and other countries denounced this as an unconstitutional coup détat, Saudi media claim that Saleh or his son had approached Riyadh seeking such a deal. By September 2014, Houthi fighters captured Sanaa, toppling Hadis government, soon after, a peace deal was concluded between the Hadi government and the Houthis, but was not honored by either party. The deal was drafted with the intent of defining a power-sharing government, a conflict over a draft constitution resulted in the Houthis consolidating control over the Yemeni capital in January 2015. After resigning from his post alongside his prime minister and remaining under house arrest for one month. Upon arriving in Aden, Hadi withdrew his resignation, saying that the actions of the Houthis from September 2014 had amounted to a coup against him. By 25 March, forces answering to Sanaa were rapidly closing in on Aden, during the Houthis southern offensive, Saudi Arabia began a military buildup on its border with Yemen. In response, a Houthi commander boasted that his troops would counterattack against any Saudi aggression and would not stop until they had taken Riyadh, the Saudi capital
Operation Decisive Storm
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Controlled by
Houthis
Operation Decisive Storm
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Ethnoreligious groups in 2002.
Zaydi Shi'a followers make up between 35% and 42.1% of Muslims.
Operation Decisive Storm
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UAEAF F16F Block 60 taking off from a military base to conduct airstrikes on Houthi targets.
23.
Sudairi Seven
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The Sudairi Seven, also spelled Sudairy or Sudayri, is the commonly used name for a powerful alliance of seven full brothers within the House of Saud. They are also referred to as the Sudairi Clan or the Sudairi faction. They all are son of King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud and his wife Hussa Sudairi, the oldest served as king from 1982 to 2005, the second- and fourth-oldest served as crown prince but predeceased King Abdullah, and the sixth-oldest succeeded Abdullah as king in 2015. There are currently three surviving members, including the present king, in the early twentieth century, King Abdulaziz rapidly expanded his power base in Nejd to establish the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, and became its first King. As part of process of expansion, he married women from powerful Nejdi. It is believed he married as many as 22 women as a result, one of these marriages was to Hussa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, a member of the Al Sudairis, a powerful clan in Nejd, where the Wahhabi ideology emerged nearly 300 years ago. One source indicates that he had 37 sons and they represented one out of five of King Abdulaziz’s sons. However, they gained influence and power not solely because of their number, unlike many of King Abdulazizs other sons who dealt much more with business activities, the Sudairi Seven tended to be interested in politics. The Sudairi Sevens rise to power can be traced back to the accession of King Faisal, although not a Sudairi himself, Prince Faisal, in his struggle to overthrow Saud, relied heavily upon the seven Sudairi brothers. In 1962, as minister and heir apparent, Prince Faisal appointed Prince Fahd as Interior Minister, Prince Sultan as Defense Minister. Following Prince Faisals accession to the throne after King Sauds deposition in 1964, in 1975, following the death of King Faisal and the accession of King Khalid, Prince Fahd became Crown Prince and Prince Nayef succeeded him at the Ministry of Interior. Another of Prince Sultan’s sons, Prince Bandar, served for two decades as Saudi ambassador in Washington and then head of the Saudi National Security Council and his other son Prince Khalid, the co-commander with U. S. General Norman Schwarzkopf in the Gulf War, became vice defence minister, late Nayef also appointed one of his sons — Muhammad — as his deputy at the Ministry of the Interior. The Sudairis’ rise to power and hold over government brought continuity to the system and it also prompted other princes to align quietly against them. The main opposition to the Sudairis came from Prince Abdullah prior to his accession to the throne and he cultivated allies among his other brothers and with King Faisal’s sons. Upon Prince Abdullahs accession to the throne, he created a new family council, the Sudairis filled a fifth of the council’s seats which is seen as a dilution of Sudairi power since their overall control over the state is perceived as proportionately greater than this. And Prince Sultan became the leader of the group after King Fahds demise, however, the eldest surviving member of the Sudairi brothers, Prince Abdul Rahman, was replaced by late Prince Sultans son Prince Khalid as deputy minister of defence. In other words, Prince Abdul Rahman was deputy minister of defence and general inspection until November 2011, Prince Abdul Rahman was reported to argue that he should have been promoted instead of Prince Salman
Sudairi Seven
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King Fahd, eldest of the Sudairi Seven
Sudairi Seven
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Sultan (1928–2011) Defense Minister (1962-22 October 2011)
Crown Prince (2005-22 October 2011)
Sudairi Seven
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Nayef (1934–2012) Interior Minister (1975-2012) First Deputy Prime Minister and
Crown Prince (27 October 2011 – 16 June 2012)
Sudairi Seven
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Salman (born 1935) seventh King of Saudi Arabia (2015-) Governor of Riyadh (1963-5 November 2011) Minister of Defense (5 November 2011 – 22 January 2015) Crown Prince (18 June 2012 – 22 January 2015)
24.
Vladimir Putin
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Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is a Russian politician. Putin is the current President of the Russian Federation, holding the office since 7 May 2012 and he was Prime Minister from 1999 to 2000, President from 2000 to 2008, and again Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012. During his second term as Prime Minister, he was the Chairman of the ruling United Russia Party, born in Leningrad, Putin studied German in high school and speaks the language fluently. He studied Law at the Saint Petersburg State University, graduating in 1975, Putin was a KGB Foreign Intelligence Officer for 16 years, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring in 1991 to enter politics in Saint Petersburg. He moved to Moscow in 1996 and joined President Boris Yeltsins administration, rising quickly through the ranks and becoming Acting President on 31 December 1999, when Yeltsin resigned. Putin won the subsequent 2000 Presidential election by a 53% to 30% margin, thus avoiding a runoff with his Communist Party of the Russian Federation opponent and he was re-elected President in 2004 with 72% of the vote. During Putins first presidency, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, the growth was a result of the 2000s commodities boom, high oil prices, and prudent economic and fiscal policies. Because of constitutionally mandated term limits, Putin was ineligible to run for a third presidential term in 2008. The 2008 Presidential election was won by Dmitry Medvedev, who appointed Putin Prime Minister, in September 2011, after presidential terms were extended from four to six years, Putin announced he would seek a third term as president. He won the March 2012 Presidential election with 64% of the vote, Putin has enjoyed high domestic approval ratings during his career, and received extensive international attention as one of the worlds most powerful leaders. In 2007, he was the Time Person of the Year, in 2015, he was #1 on the Times Most Influential People List. Forbes ranked him the Worlds Most Powerful Individual every year from 2013 to 2016, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, the youngest of three children of Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin and Maria Ivanovna Putina. His birth was preceded by the death of two brothers, Viktor and Albert, born in the mid-1930s, Albert died in infancy and Viktor died of diphtheria during the Siege of Leningrad. Putins mother was a worker and his father was a conscript in the Soviet Navy. Early in World War II, his father served in the battalion of the NKVD. Later, he was transferred to the army and was severely wounded in 1942. On 1 September 1960, Putin started at School No.193 at Baskov Lane and he was one of a few in the class of approximately 45 pupils who was not yet a member of the Young Pioneer organization. At age 12, he began to practice sambo and judo and he wished to emulate the intelligence officers portrayed in Soviet cinema
Vladimir Putin
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Vladimir Putin Владимир Путин
Vladimir Putin
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Putin's father, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin
Vladimir Putin
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Maria Ivanovna Shelomova, the mother of Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin
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Putin with his mother, Maria Ivanovna, in July 1958
25.
King Saud University
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King Saud University is a public university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, founded in 1957 by King Saud bin Abdulaziz as Riyadh University, as the first university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The university was created to meet the shortage of skilled workers in Saudi Arabia and it was renamed King Saud University in 1982. The student body of KSU today consists of about 65,000 students of both sexes, the university offers courses in the natural sciences, the humanities, and professional studies, for which it charges no tuition. The medium of instruction in undergraduate programs is English and Arabic depending on the chosen major, among Arab universities, its medical programs are highly regarded. Establishing Saudi Arabias first university was a response to the educational and professional needs of a young nation, King Abdulaziz became king in 1932, and began laying the foundations for modernizing his country and establishing an educational system. In 1953 King Saud, the eldest son of Abdulaziz, acceded to the throne upon his fathers death, and instituted the Council of Ministers, Prince Fahd, who eventually became the Saudi King, was the first minister of education. Following the first session of the Council of Ministers, he announced that the first Saudi University would be established as a house of culture, Prince Fahd said that he was committed to promoting higher education. In 1957, according to the dictates of the Royal Decree No, Students began studying at the College of Arts in the 1957-58 academic year. Since then KSU developed further according to the needs of the nation, between 1958 and 1960 the College of Sciences, the College of Business and the College of Pharmacy were established. In 1965 the College of Agriculture was established and KSU assumed control over the Colleges of Engineering and Education, Royal Decree no M/11 of 1967 enforced the Statute of the University of Riyadh, rescinding all earlier statutes, bylaws, and regulations. Of the main landmarks of the new Statute is the creation of the Higher Council of the University as one of its administrative powers. The membership of the new council includes two active or inactive university Presidents, two faculty members who had assumed such positions outside the country, or two native leading intellectuals, Royal Decree no M/6 of 1972 superseded the Statute of 1967. With the new Statute, the membership of the Higher Council of the University includes five active or inactive university Presidents, to the council are also added the University Secretary General and two other non-university members. Again, the Statute dictates the creation of an Academic Council overlooking scholarly research, the Higher Council of the University issues the bylaws governing the number of the Academic Councils members, responsibilities, and powers. These decrees were issued in response to the growing and widening needs of the university as the establishment of new colleges started, between 1958 and 1960, three colleges were established, the College of Sciences, College of Business and the College of Pharmacy. In 1961/1962 women were first admitted into the College of Arts, five years later the College of Agriculture was established. In the same year the College of Engineering and College of Education, a year later the College of Medicine opened. In 1974/1975 the Arabic Language Institute was inaugurated to serve non-Arabic speakers, at this time deanships of Admission and Registration, Students Affairs, Libraries were also established
King Saud University
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King Saud
King Saud University
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King Saud University
King Saud University
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King Saud University entrance
King Saud University
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College of Medicine
26.
Prince Salman Center for Disability Research
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The King Salman Center for Disability Research is a non-profit organization based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It conducts and funds laboratory and field research on all aspects and its aim is to improve the quality of life of all persons living with disabilities by promoting research that results in real life changes and activities that help reduce the impact of disability. KSCDR is named in honor of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the program screens for 16 different types of inherited metabolic and endocrine disorders and averages over 170,000 yearly screenings. In 2010, KSCDR published the Universal Accessibility Guidelines as part of its campaign to introduce the universal accessibility concept in Saudi Arabia, KSCDR provides in-school training workshops for teachers to help them recognize and teach students with LD. It collaborates with the Center for Child Evaluation and Teaching in Kuwait, in 2012, KSCDR forged a partnership with McGraw-Hill Education Services to develop educational programs benefiting students with learning difficulties. KSCDR is actively pursuing a number of research topics and these include research in the area of visual impairment, speech impairment, autism, and mental health. Nominations from individuals are not accepted, the Award is granted in the following three main areas of disability, Health and Medical Sciences. Awardees in their respective areas receive the following, A certificate bearing the name of the winner as well as a summary of the work that earned him/her the Award. A sum of two-hundred and fifty-thousand Saudi Riyals KSCDR received the European Unions Chaillot Award in 2011 for its work on protecting the rights of the disabled. KSCDR is the recipient of the 2011-2012 Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for the Best Medical College/Institution or Centre in the Arab World
Prince Salman Center for Disability Research
–
Science Benefiting People
27.
Kuwait
–
Kuwait /kuːˈweɪt/, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in Western Asia. Situated in the edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, it shares borders with Iraq. As of 2016, Kuwait has a population of 4.2 million people,1.3 million are Kuwaitis and 2.9 million are expatriates, expatriates account for 70% of the population. Oil reserves were discovered in 1938, from 1946 to 1982, the country underwent large-scale modernization. In the 1980s, Kuwait experienced a period of geopolitical instability, in 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq. The Iraqi occupation came to an end in 1991 after military intervention by coalition forces, at the end of the war, there were extensive efforts to revive the economy and rebuild national infrastructure. Kuwait is a constitutional emirate with a political system. It has an income economy backed by the worlds sixth largest oil reserves. The Kuwaiti dinar is the highest valued currency in the world, according to the World Bank, the country has the fourth highest per capita income in the world. The Constitution was promulgated in 1962, making Kuwait the most democratic country in the region, in the Arab world, Kuwait is frequently dubbed the Hollywood of the Gulf due to the popularity of its soap operas and theatre. During the Ubaid period, Kuwait was the site of interaction between the peoples of Mesopotamia and Neolithic Eastern Arabia, mainly centered in As-Subiya in northern Kuwait. The earliest evidence of habitation in Kuwait dates back 8000 B. C. where Mesolithic tools were found in Burgan. As-Subiya in northern Kuwait is the earliest evidence of urbanization in the whole Persian Gulf basin area, mesopotamians first settled in the Kuwaiti island of Failaka in 2000 B. C. Traders from the Sumerian city of Ur inhabited Failaka and ran a mercantile business, the island had many Mesopotamian-style buildings typical of those found in Iraq dating from around 2000 B. C. The Neolithic inhabitants of Kuwait were among the worlds earliest maritime traders, one of the worlds earliest reed-boats was discovered in northern Kuwait dating back to the Ubaid period. In 3rd century BC, the ancient Greeks colonized the bay of Kuwait under Alexander the Great, according to Strabo and Arrian, Alexander the Great named Failaka Ikaros because it resembled the Aegean island of that name in size and shape. Remains of Greek colonization include a large Hellenistic fort and Greek temples, in 224 AD, Kuwait became part of the Sassanid Empire. At the time of the Sassanid Empire, Kuwait was known as Meshan, Akkaz was a Partho-Sassanian site, the Sassanid religions tower of silence was discovered in northern Akkaz
Kuwait
–
Oil fires in Kuwait in 1991, which were a result of the
scorched earth policy of
Iraqi military forces retreating from Kuwait.
Kuwait
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Flag
Kuwait
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Kuwait National Assembly Building
Kuwait
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Satellite image of Kuwait
28.
Bahrain
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Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is a small Arab monarchy in the Persian Gulf. Bahrains population is 1,234,567, including 666,172 non-nationals and it is 780 km2 in size, making it the third smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilisation and it has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to convert to Islam, following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was occupied by the Portuguese in 1521, who in turn were expelled in 1602 by Shah Abbas I of the Safavid dynasty under the Persian Empire. In 1783, the Bani Utbah clan captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, in the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. Formerly a state, Bahrain was declared a Kingdom in 2002, in 2011, the country experienced protests inspired by the regional Arab Spring. Bahrain had the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf, since the late 20th century, Bahrain has invested in the banking and tourism sectors. Many large financial institutions have a presence in Manama, the countrys capital, Bahrain has a high Human Development Index and was recognised by the World Bank as a high income economy. In Arabic, Bahrayn is the form of bahr, so al-Bahrayn means the two seas, although which two seas were originally intended remains in dispute. The term appears five times in the Quran, but does not refer to the modern island—originally known to the Arabs as Awal— but rather to all of Eastern Arabia. Today, Bahrains two seas are generally taken to be the bay east and west of the island. In addition to wells, there are areas of the sea north of Bahrain where fresh water bubbles up in the middle of the water as noted by visitors since antiquity. An alternate theory with regard to Bahrains toponymy is offered by the al-Ahsa region, another supposition by al-Jawahari suggests that the more formal name Bahri would have been misunderstood and so was opted against. Until the late Middle Ages, Bahrain referred to the region of Eastern Arabia that included Southern Iraq, Kuwait, Al-Hasa, Qatif, the region stretched from Basra in Iraq to the Strait of Hormuz in Oman. This was Iqlīm al-Bahrayns Bahrayn Province, the exact date at which the term Bahrain began to refer solely to the Awal archipelago is unknown. The entire coastal strip of Eastern Arabia was known as Bahrain for a millennium, the island and kingdom were also commonly spelled Bahrein into the 1950s. Bahrain was home to the Dilmun civilization, an important Bronze Age trade centre linking Mesopotamia, Bahrain was later ruled by the Assyrians and Babylonians. From the 6th to 3rd century BC, Bahrain was part of the Persian Empire ruled by the Achaemenian dynasty, by about 250 BC, Parthia brought the Persian Gulf under its control and extended its influence as far as Oman
Bahrain
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Arad Fort in
Arad; constructed before the Portuguese assumed control.
Bahrain
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Flag
Bahrain
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Bahrain harbor, c. 1870.
Bahrain
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A photograph of the First Oil Well in Bahrain, with oil first being extracted in 1931
29.
Qatar
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Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a sovereign country located in Western Asia, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its surrounded by the Arabian Gulf. A strait in the Arabian Gulf separates Qatar from the island country of Bahrain, as well as sharing maritime borders with the United Arab Emirates. Following Ottoman rule, Qatar became a British protectorate in the early 20th century until gaining independence in 1971, Qatar has been ruled by the House of Thani since the early 19th century. Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani was the founder of the State of Qatar, Qatar is a hereditary monarchy and its head of state is Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Whether it should be regarded as a constitutional or a monarchy is a matter of opinion. In 2003, the constitution was approved in a referendum. In early 2017, Qatars total population was 2.6 million,313,000 Qatari citizens and 2.3 million expatriates, Qatar is a high income economy, backed by the worlds third largest natural gas reserves and oil reserves. The country has the highest per capita income in the world, Qatar is classified by the UN as a country of very high human development and is the most advanced Arab state for human development. Qatar is a significant power in the Arab world, supporting several rebel groups during the Arab Spring both financially and through its globally expanding media group, Al Jazeera Media Network. For its size, Qatar wields disproportionate influence in the world, Qatar will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first Arab country to do so. A century later, Ptolemy produced the first known map to depict the peninsula, the map also referenced a town named Cadara to the east of the peninsula. The term Catara was exclusively used until the 18th century, after which Katara emerged as the most commonly recognised spelling, eventually, the modern derivative Qatar was adopted as the countrys name. In Standard Arabic, the name is pronounced, while in the local dialect it is, Human habitation of Qatar dates back to 50,000 years ago. Settlements and tools dating back to the Stone Age have been unearthed in the peninsula, Mesopotamian artefacts originating from the Ubaid period have been discovered in abandoned coastal settlements. Al Daasa, a settlement located on the western coast of Qatar, is the most important Ubaid site in the country and is believed to have accommodated a small seasonal encampment. Kassite Babylonian material dating back to the second millennium BC found in Al Khor Islands attests to trade relations between the inhabitants of Qatar and the Kassites in modern-day Bahrain, among the findings were 3,000,000 crushed snail shells and Kassite potsherds. It has been suggested that Qatar is the earliest known site of shellfish dye production, in 224 AD, the Sasanian Empire gained control over the territories surrounding the Persian Gulf
Qatar
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Dot carvings at
Jebel Jassassiyeh, dating to c. 4000 BC.
Qatar
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Flag
Qatar
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A map of East Arabia in 1794.
Qatar
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A partially restored section of the ruined town of
Zubarah.
30.
Montreal
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Montreal, officially Montréal, is the most populous municipality in the Canadian province of Quebec and the 2nd-most populous in Canada as a whole. Originally called Ville-Marie, or City of Mary, it is believed to be named after Mount Royal, the city has a distinct four-season continental climate, with warm-to-hot summers and cold, snowy winters. In 2016, Montreal had a population of 1,704,694, Montreals metropolitan area had a population of 4,098,927 and a population of 1,958,257 in the urban agglomeration, with all of the municipalities on the Island of Montreal included. Legally a French-speaking city,60. 5% of Montrealers speak French at home,21. 2% speak English and 19. 8% speak neither, Montreal is one of the most bilingual cities in Quebec and Canada, with 56% of the population able to speak both official languages. Montreal is the second-largest primarily French-speaking city in the world after Paris, historically the commercial capital of Canada, it was surpassed in population and economic strength by Toronto in the 1970s. It remains an important centre of commerce, aerospace, finance, pharmaceuticals, technology, design, education, culture, tourism, gaming, film, Montreal was also named a UNESCO City of Design. In 2009, Montreal was named North Americas leading host city for international events, according to the 2009 preliminary rankings of the International Congress. According to the 2015 Global Liveability Ranking by the Economist Intelligence Unit, in the 2017 edition of their Best Student Cities ranking, Quacquarelli Symonds ranked Montreal as the worlds best city to study abroad. Also, Montreal has 11 universities with 170,000 students enrolled, the Greater Montréal region has the highest number of university students per capita among all metropolitan areas in North America. It is the only Canadian city to have held the Summer Olympics, currently, the city hosts the Canadian Grand Prix of Formula One, the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Just for Laughs festival. In 2012, Montreal was ranked as a Beta+ world city, in Kanien’kéha, or Mohawk language, the island is called Tiohtià, ke Tsi or Ka-wé-no-te. In Anishinaabemowin, or Ojibwe language, the land is called Mooniyaang, though the city was first named by French colonizers Ville Marie, or City of Mary, its current name comes from Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill in the heart of the city. The most popular theory is that the name derives from Mont Réal, Cartiers 1535 diary entry, naming the mountain, according to the Commission de toponymie du Québec and the Geographical Names Board of Canada, Canadian place names have only one official form. Thus, Montreal is officially spelled with an accent over the e in both English and French. In practice, this is limited to governmental uses. English-speaking Montrealers, including English-language media, regularly omit the accent when writing in English, archaeological evidence demonstrates that First Nations native people occupied the island of Montreal as early as 4,000 years ago. By the year AD1000, they had started to cultivate maize, within a few hundred years, they had built fortified villages. Archeologists have found evidence of their habitation there and at locations in the valley since at least the 14th century
Montreal
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Clockwise from top:
Downtown Montreal as seen from the
Champlain Bridge;
McGill University;
Saint Joseph's Oratory; the
Old Montreal featuring the
Montreal Clock Tower and the
Jacques Cartier Bridge during the
Montreal Fireworks Festival; a view of the
Notre-Dame Basilica from
Place d'Armes; and the
Olympic Stadium.
Montreal
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The Montreal Harbour in 1889.
Montreal
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Saint Jacques Street (formerly St. James Street), in 1910
Montreal
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Bonsecours Market in autumn.
31.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
Paris
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In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
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Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
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The
Palais de la Cité and
Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)
32.
Jacques Chirac
–
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician, who served as the President of France and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra from 1995 to 2007. Chirac served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976, from 1986 to 1988, Chirac occupied various senior positions, including Minister of Agriculture, Minister of the Interior, Prime Minister, Mayor of Paris, and President of the French Republic. Chiracs internal policies initially included lower tax rates, the removal of controls, strong punishment for crime and terrorism. After pursuing these policies as Prime Minister, Chirac changed his method, Jacques Chirac has emerged as an improbable icon of retro taste and a figure of public affection. On 15 December 2011, the Paris court declared him guilty of diverting public funds and abusing public confidence, and gave Chirac a two-year suspended prison sentence. Chirac, born in the Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire clinic, is the son of Abel François Marie Chirac, an executive for an aircraft company, and Marie-Louise Valette. His great grandparents on both sides were peasants, but his two grandfathers were teachers from Sainte-Féréole in Corrèze, according to Chirac, his name originates from the langue doc, that of the troubadours, therefore that of poetry. He was educated in Paris at the Cours Hattemer, a private school and he then attended the Lycée Carnot and at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. After his baccalauréat, he served for three months as a sailor on a coal-transporter, Chirac played rugby union for Brives youth team, and also played at university level. He played no.8 and second row, in 1956, he married Bernadette Chodron de Courcel, with whom he had two daughters, Laurence and Claude. Chirac is the grandfather of Martin Rey-Chirac by the relationship of Claude with French judoka Thierry Rey, Jacques and Bernadette Chirac also have a foster daughter, Anh Dao Traxel. Inspired by General Charles de Gaulle, Chirac started to pursue a civil career in the 1950s. During this period, he joined the French Communist Party, sold copies of LHumanité, in 1950, he signed the Soviet-inspired Stockholm Appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons – which led him to be questioned when he applied for his first visa to the United States. Chirac trained as a military officer in armoured cavalry at Saumur. He then volunteered to fight in the Algerian War, using connections to be sent despite the reservations of his superiors. His superiors did not want to make him an officer because they suspected he had communist leanings, after leaving the ENA in 1959, he became a civil servant in the Court of Auditors. In April 1962, Chirac was appointed head of the staff of Prime Minister Georges Pompidou. This appointment launched Chiracs political career, Pompidou considered Chirac his protégé, and referred to him as my bulldozer for his skill at getting things done
Jacques Chirac
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Chirac at the
Élysée Palace in June 1999
Jacques Chirac
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Chirac during his second term as Prime Minister
Jacques Chirac
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Chirac with
Bill Clinton outside the
Élysée Palace in Paris, June 1999
Jacques Chirac
–
Chirac with German Federal Chancellor
Gerhard Schröder.
33.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, in short, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city, in the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a region that traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, the Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country. This was followed by annexation into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period, Bosnia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the country proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995. The country is home to three ethnic groups or, officially, constituent peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a rather than ethnic distinction. Moreover, the country was simply called Bosnia until the Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the 19th century, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself complex and consists of 10 cantons, additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe since April 2002 and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment in July 2008. The name is believed to have derived from the hydronym of the river Bosna coursing through the Bosnian heartland. According to philologist Anton Mayer the name Bosna could be derived from Illyrian Bass-an-as which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root bos or bogh, meaning the running water. According to English medievalist William Miller the Slavic settlers in Bosnia adapted the Latin designation Basante, to their own idiom by calling the stream Bosna, the name Herzegovina originates from Bosnian magnate Stephen Vukčić Kosačas title, Herceg of Hum and the Coast. Hum, formerly Zahumlje, was a medieval principality that was conquered by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century. Bosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia to the north and west, Serbia to the east and it has a coastline about 20 kilometres long surrounding the city of Neum. It lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N, and longitudes 15° and 20° E, the countrys name comes from the two regions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have a very vaguely defined border between them
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Mogorjelo, ancient Roman suburban Villa Rustica from the 4th century, near
Čapljina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Flag
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque in
Sarajevo dating from 1531
Bosnia and Herzegovina
–
Bosniak resistance against the
Austro-Hungarian military intervention in 1878
34.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
Japan
–
The
Golden Hall and
five-storey pagoda of
Hōryū-ji, among the oldest wooden buildings in the world,
National Treasures, and a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Japan
Japan
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Samurai warriors face Mongols, during the
Mongol invasions of Japan. The
Kamikaze, two storms, are said to have saved Japan from Mongol fleets.
Japan
–
Samurai could
kill a commoner for the slightest insult and were widely feared by the Japanese population.
Edo period, 1798
35.
Brunei
–
Brunei, officially the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace, is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its coastline with the South China Sea, the country is surrounded by the state of Sarawak. It is separated into two parts by the Sarawak district of Limbang, Brunei is the only sovereign state completely on the island of Borneo, the remainder of the islands territory is divided between the nations of Malaysia and Indonesia. Bruneis population was 408,786 in July 2012, the maritime state was visited by Spains Magellan Expedition in 1521 and fought against Spain in the 1578 Castille War. During the 19th century, the Bruneian Empire began to decline, the Sultanate ceded Sarawak to James Brooke and installed him as the White Rajah, and it ceded Sabah to the British North Borneo Chartered Company. In 1888, Brunei became a British protectorate and was assigned a British resident as colonial manager in 1906, after the Japanese occupation during World War II, in 1959 a new constitution was written. In 1962, an armed rebellion against the monarchy was ended with the help of the British. Brunei gained its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 January 1984, Economic growth during the 1990s and 2000s, with the GDP increasing 56% from 1999 to 2008, transformed Brunei into an industrialised country. It has developed wealth from petroleum and natural gas fields. Brunei has the second-highest Human Development Index among the Southeast Asian nations, after Singapore, according to the International Monetary Fund, Brunei is ranked fifth in the world by gross domestic product per capita at purchasing power parity. The IMF estimated in 2011 that Brunei was one of two countries with a debt at 0% of the national GDP. Forbes also ranks Brunei as the fifth-richest nation out of 182, based on its petroleum, according to legend, Brunei was founded by Awang Alak Betatar, later to be Sultan Muhammad Shah. He moved from Garang, a place in the Temburong District to the Brunei River estuary, according to legend, upon landing he exclaimed, Baru nah, from which the name Brunei was derived. He was the first Muslim ruler of Brunei, before the rise of the Bruneian Empire under the Muslim Bolkiah Dynasty, Brunei is believed to have been under Buddhist rulers. It was renamed Barunai in the 14th century, possibly influenced by the Sanskrit word varuṇ, the word Borneo is of the same origin. In the countrys name, Negara Brunei Darussalam, darussalam means abode of peace. The people are pagans and are men of goodwill and their colour is whiter than that of the other sort. in this island justice is well administered. One of the earliest Chinese records is the 977 AD letter to Chinese emperor from the ruler of Po-ni, which some scholars believe to refer to Borneo
Brunei
–
The tomb of a ruler of Po-ni in
Nanjing,
China.
Brunei
–
Flag
Brunei
–
Ahmad Tajuddin, the
27th Sultan of Brunei with members of his court in April 1941, eight months before the Japanese invaded Brunei.
Brunei
–
Japanese battleships at Brunei in October 1944.
36.
China
–
China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
China
–
Yinxu, ruins of an ancient
palace dating from the
Shang Dynasty (14th century BCE)
China
–
Flag
China
–
Some of the thousands of life-size
Terracotta Warriors of the
Qin Dynasty, c. 210 BCE
China
–
The
Great Wall of China was built by several dynasties over two thousand years to protect the sedentary agricultural regions of the
Chinese interior from incursions by
nomadic pastoralists of the northern
steppes.
37.
Leon Panetta
–
In January 2009, newly elected President Barack Obama nominated Panetta for the post of CIA Director. Panetta was confirmed by the full Senate in February 2009, as director of the CIA, Panetta oversaw the operation that brought down international terrorist Osama bin Laden. On April 28,2011, Obama announced the nomination of Panetta as Defense Secretary, in June the Senate confirmed Panetta unanimously and he assumed the office on July 1,2011. David Petraeus took over as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency on September 6,2011, the Institute is dedicated to motivating and preparing people for lives of public service and helping them to become more knowledgeably engaged in the democratic process. He also serves on a number of boards and commissions and frequently writes and lectures on public policy issues, Panetta was born in Monterey, California, the son of Carmelina Maria and Carmelo Frank Panetta, Italian immigrants from Siderno in Calabria, Italy. In the 1940s, the Panetta family owned a restaurant in Monterey and he was raised in the Monterey area, and attended two Catholic grammar schools, San Carlos School and Junipero Serra School. He attended Monterey High School, a school where he became involved in student politics. As a Junior, he was Vice President of the Student Body, in 1956, he entered Santa Clara University, California, and graduated magna cum laude in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. In 1963, he received a Juris Doctor from the Santa Clara University School of Law, in 1964, he joined the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant, where he served as an officer in Army Military Intelligence, and received the Army Commendation Medal. In 1966, he was discharged as a First Lieutenant, in 1969 he became the assistant to Robert H. Finch, Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under the Nixon administration. Soon thereafter he was appointed Director of the Office for Civil Rights, Robert Finch and Assistant Secretary John Veneman supported Panetta and refused to fire him, threatening to resign if forced to do so. He moved back to Monterey to practice law at Panetta, Thompson & Panetta from 1971 to 1976, like Lindsay, Panetta switched to the Democratic Party in 1971, because he thought that the Republican Party was moving away from the political center. In 1976, Panetta was elected to the U. S. Congress to represent Californias 16th congressional district, unseating incumbent Republican Burt Talcott with 53% of the vote and he wrote the Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 and the Fair Employment Practices Resolution. He was the author of legislation establishing the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, working with Chancellor Barry Munoz of CSU, he helped establish CSU Monterey Bay at the former Fort Ord military base. A member of the House Committee on the Budget from 1979 to 1989 and his positions included, Chairman of the U. S. S. House Select Committee on Hunger Vice Chairman of the Caucus of Vietnam-Era Veterans in Congress Member of the Presidents Commission on Foreign Language, in that role he developed the budget package that would eventually result in the balanced budget of 1998. In 1994, President Clinton became increasingly concerned about a lack of order and focus in the White House and asked Panetta to become his new Chief of Staff, according to author Nigel Hamilton, Panetta replaced McLarty for the rest of Clintons first term—and the rest is history. To be a leader, a modern president must have a great chief of staff—and in Leon Panetta
Leon Panetta
–
Panetta in June 2011
Leon Panetta
–
1977 Congressional portrait of Panetta.
Leon Panetta
–
President
Barack Obama speaks to CIA employees at CIA Headquarters in Langley, 20 April 2009
Leon Panetta
–
Panetta as Director of the CIA.
38.
The Pentagon
–
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D. C. As a symbol of the U. S. military, The Pentagon is often used metonymically to refer to the U. S. Department of Defense, the Pentagon was designed by American architect George Bergstrom, and built by general contractor John McShain of Philadelphia. Ground was broken for construction on September 11,1941, General Brehon Somervell provided the major motive power behind the project, Colonel Leslie Groves was responsible for overseeing the project for the U. S. Army. The Pentagon is one of the worlds largest office buildings, with about 6,500,000 sq ft, approximately 23,000 military and civilian employees and about 3,000 non-defense support personnel work in the Pentagon. It has five sides, five floors above ground, two basement levels, and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 mi of corridors. It was the first significant foreign attack on Washingtons governmental facilities since the city was burned by the British, when World War II broke out in Europe, the War Department rapidly expanded in anticipation that the United States would be drawn into the conflict. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson found the situation unacceptable, with the Munitions Building overcrowded, Stimson told U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in May 1941 that the War Department needed additional space. On July 17,1941, a hearing took place, organized by Virginia congressman Clifton Woodrum. Reybold agreed to back to the congressman within five days. The War Department called upon its construction chief, General Brehon Somervell, Government officials agreed that the War Department building, officially designated Federal Office Building No 1, should be constructed across the Potomac River, in Arlington County, Virginia. Requirements for the new building were that it be no more than four stories tall, the requirements meant that, instead of rising vertically, the building would be sprawling over a large area. Possible sites for the building included the Department of Agricultures Arlington Experimental Farm, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, the site originally chosen was Arlington Farms which had a roughly pentagonal shape, so the building was planned accordingly as an irregular pentagon. Concerned that the new building could obstruct the view of Washington, D. C. from Arlington Cemetery, the building retained its pentagonal layout because a major redesign at that stage would have been costly, and Roosevelt liked the design. Freed of the constraints of the asymmetric Arlington Farms site, it was modified into a pentagon which resembled the star forts of the gunpowder age. While the project went through the process in late July 1941, Somervell selected the contractors, including John McShain, Inc. and Doyle and Russell. In addition to the Hoover Airport site and other government-owned land, construction of the Pentagon required an additional 287 acres, which were acquired at a cost of $2.2 million. The Hells Bottom neighborhood, a slum with numerous pawnshops, factories, approximately 150 homes, Later 300 acres of land were transferred to Arlington National Cemetery and to Fort Myer, leaving 280 acres for the Pentagon. Contracts totaling $31,100,000 were finalized with McShain and the contractors on September 11
The Pentagon
–
The Pentagon in January 2008
The Pentagon
–
1945 map of the
Pentagon road network, including present-day
State Route 27 and part of the
Shirley Highway, as well as the
Main Navy and Munitions Buildings near the
Lincoln Memorial.
The Pentagon
–
Main Navy Building (foreground) and the
Munitions Building were temporary structures built during
World War I on the
National Mall. The Munitions Building served as the Department of War headquarters for several years before moving into the Pentagon.
The Pentagon
–
Southwest view of the Pentagon with the
Potomac River and
Washington Monument in background (1998).
39.
Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia
–
The Royal Saudi Arabian Armed Forces consists of the Saudi Arabian Army, the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Royal Saudi Navy, the Royal Saudi Air Defense, and the Royal Saudi Strategic Missile Force. In addition the Saudi Arabian National Guard, which is one of the three branches of the Joint Forces of the Kingdom. The national guard is under the control of the Ministry of National Guard, instead of the Ministry of Defence, the Saudi Arabian Royal Guard. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has one of the defence forces in the Middle East. The kingdom spends 25% of its budget, or about $88 billion, on its military, in terms of manpower, Saudi Arabia has about 688,000 active personnel in its military, with 300,000 army troops. Saudi Arabia also has more than 200,000 men in its national guard and 25,000 tribal levies, the navy has about 60,000 members, air defense forces and strategic rocket forces about 40,000 soldiers. In addition to the air forces with more than 63,000 active employees, also there is an intelligence service. The Saudi Arabian National Guard is not a reserve but a fully operational force, and originated out of Abdul Azizs tribal military-religious force. Its modern existence, however, is attributable to it being effectively Abdullahs private army since the 1960s and, crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz was Saudi Arabias Minister of Defence and Aviation from 1962 to 2011. The vice minister, Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, was his full brother and his oldest son, Khalid bin Sultan, was appointed assistant minister in 2001 and was in office until April 2013. In 1987, members of the air force, army, and navy are mainly recruits from groups of people without a strong identity from the Nejd tribal system, spending on defense and security has increased significantly since the mid-1990s and was about US$67 billion in 2013. Saudi Arabia ranks among the top five nations in the world in government spending for its military and its modern, high-technology arsenal makes Saudi Arabia among the worlds most densely armed nations, with its military equipment being supplied primarily by the United States, France, and Britain. According to SIPRI, in 2010–14 Saudi Arabia became the second largest arms importer. Major imports in 2010–14 included 45 combat aircraft from the UK,38 combat helicopters from the USA,4 tanker aircraft from Spain and over 600 armoured vehicles from Canada. Saudi Arabia has a long list of outstanding orders for arms, including 27 more combat aircraft from the UK,154 combat aircraft from the USA, the United States sold more than $80 billion in military hardware between 1951 and 2006 to the Saudi military. In comparison, the Israel Defense Forces received $53.6 billion in U. S. military grants between 1949 and 2007. On 20 October 2010, U. S. State Department notified Congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in American history—an estimated $60.5 billion purchase by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The package represented an improvement in the offensive capability of the Saudi armed forces
Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia
–
Saudi Arabian army
UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter during Operation
Desert Shield
Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia
–
Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia Emblem
Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia
–
Eurofighter Typhoon
Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia
–
HMS "Makkah", an
Al Riyadh class frigate
40.
Sultan bin Abdulaziz
–
Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, called Sultan al-Khair in Saudi Arabia, was the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 2005 to 2011. Sultan was born in Riyadh, Najd Sultanate in 1925 and he was the 12th son of King Abdulaziz and his mother was Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi. He was the second of the Sudairi Seven, Prince Sultan, along with many of his brothers, received his early education in religion, modern culture, and diplomacy at the royal court. His career in service began in 1940 when he was made a deputy to then Riyadh governor or emir. In 1947, Prince Sultan replaced Prince Nasser as governor of Riyadh, Prince Sultan also assisted King Abdulazizs attempts to establish a national administrative system based on the Islamic Sharia law during this period. In 1947, Prince Sultan oversaw ARAMCOs construction of the Kingdoms rail link between Dammam and Riyadh and he was appointed as the kingdom’s first minister of agriculture in 1953 and minister of transport in 1955. Major General Carl von Horn, Swedish commander of the UN observer mission during the Yemeni civil war, described the Prince Sultan as a volatile, in 1963, Crown Prince Faisal appointed Prince Sultan as minister of defense and aviation. He presided over the development of the Saudi armed forces, during the reign of King Faisal, Prince Sultan was particularly interested in Yemen. His influence declined under the reign of King Khalid, Sultan purchased U. S. tanks, fighter planes, missiles and AWACS. Sultan allegedly became extraordinarily wealthy from kickbacks by Western businesses that handled multibillion-dollar defense contracts and he was involved in many scandals, including the Al Yamamah deal. However, his influence remained unhindered until his health began to deteriorate, during his tenure, Saudi Arabia became the largest importer of U. S. arms. He was a proponent of U. S. -Saudi partnership. As well, Sultan authorized a deal with the British Aircraft Corporation in 1965 and his program, called Operation Magic Carpet, traded £16 million for six second-hand Lightnings, six Hawker Hunters, and a set of missile launchers going to Royal Saudi Air Force. Geoffrey Edwards served as the official intermediary, British pilots also came over, privately contracted. Prince Sultan was an expert on the Yemen civil war and Soviet involvement in the Horn of Africa in 1985, in 1996, Prince Sultan opposed Pentagon plans to relocate U. S. troops to safer locations after the Dhahran complex bombings. He visited Iran in May 1999 that was the first official visit of a Saudi minister since 1979, on 13 June 1982, after the death of King Khalid and Crown Prince Fahd became the King, Prince Sultan was appointed second deputy prime minister. The objection of Prince Musaid was easily ignored since his son, however, the interests of Bandar bin Abdulaziz were much harder to ignore. Thus, he was compensated and the dispute was resolved, Prince Sultan, in December 1995, attempted to seize power through the support of the Ulema when Crown Prince Abdullah was in Oman for a summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council
Sultan bin Abdulaziz
–
Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud
Sultan bin Abdulaziz
41.
Sattam bin Abdul Aziz
–
Sattam bin Abdulaziz was one of the senior members of the House of Saud and the 12th governor of the Riyadh Province. Prince Sattam was born in Riyadh on 21 January 1941 and he was the 30th son of King Abdulaziz. His mother was Mudhi Al Sudairi and he was the youngest and last surviving member of all of his full siblings - Prince Majid, Princess Sultana, and Princess Haya. Sattam bin Abdulaziz began his study in the princes school in Riyadh and then. He received a degree in business administration from the University of San Diego. He obtained the honorary doctorate from the university on 25 May 1975. Sattam bin Abdulaziz was the deputy governor of Riyadh from 1979 to 2011. Prince Mohammad bin Saad succeeded him in the post, on 5 November 2011, Prince Sattam was appointed governor of Riyadh Province. He was the 12th governor of Riyadh and replaced Prince Salman, in March 2012, Sattam bin Abdulaziz stated that single men would not be prevented from visiting malls in Riyadh on evenings and weekends. Previously, they were allowed into malls at lunch time on weekdays. Prince Sattam was a recipient of the King Abdulaziz cordon from the first class which is considered the highest order in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sattam bin Abdulaziz was married to Sheikha bint Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman. His children are Hala, Abdulaziz, Najla and Faisal, one of his daughters, Najla, is married to Abdulaziz bin Majid. Prince Sattam donated his organs, being the first Saudi royal in this regard, on 12 February 2013, Prince Sattam died at the age of 72 following a lengthy illness in Riyadh. A funeral prayer was performed for him at Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh on 13 February 2013, the prayer, led by Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al al Shiekh, was also attended by King Abdullah and other senior princes and officials. Then his body was taken to Jeddah and was buried at the Al Adl cemetery in Mecca as per his will
Sattam bin Abdul Aziz
–
Sattam bin Abdulaziz
Sattam bin Abdul Aziz
42.
National Security Council (Saudi Arabia)
–
The Saudi National Security Council was the body in charge of coordinating Saudi Arabias national security, intelligence and foreign policy strategy. It was established in 2005 by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first secretary general of the SNSC was Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi Ambassador to the United States. The assistant secretary general of the SNSC was Prince Salman bin Sultan until 6 August 2013, the council was abolished by King Salman on 29 January 2015. The National Security Council was formed on 16 October 2005 by the newly crowned King Abdullah in response to major shifts in the Middle East region. The occupation of Iraq made the region a center for reconstruction, globalization and reorganization with the entry of the United States as a major player. In addition to its influence in the Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia is one of the leading actors in the Islamic world and has a central role in global energy policy. It had the power to declare war and investigate security agencies if they were involved in acts that threaten national security. Despite the formation of the Council, as with other Saudi government institutions, the SNSC was chaired by the King, with the Crown Prince as deputy chairman. Its affairs are coordinated by a permanent Secretary General, late Prince Nayef, then interior minister, served as the deputy head of the SNSC. King Salman dissolved the NSC on 29 January 2015
National Security Council (Saudi Arabia)
–
Saudi Arabia
43.
Bahrain uprising
–
The Bahraini uprising is an ongoing series of peaceful pro-democratic protests that the Bahraini authorities are repressing severely and violently. The Bahraini protests were a series of demonstrations, amounting to a campaign of civil. Protesters in Manama camped for days at the Pearl Roundabout, which became the centre of the protests, after a month, the government of Bahrain requested troops and police aid from the Gulf Cooperation Council. On 14 March 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and 500 troops from UAE entered Bahrain, a day later, King Hamad declared martial law and a three-month state of emergency. Pearl Roundabout was cleared of protesters and the statue at its center was destroyed. Occasional demonstrations have, however, continued since then, after the state of emergency was lifted on 1 June, the opposition party, Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, organized several weekly protests usually attended by tens of thousands. On 9 March 2012, over 100,000 attended and another on 31 August attracted tens of thousands, Daily smaller-scale protests and clashes continued, mostly outside Manamas business districts. By April 2012, more than 80 had died, the police response was described as a brutal crackdown on peaceful and unarmed protesters, including doctors and bloggers. The police carried out house raids in Shia neighbourhoods, beatings at checkpoints. More than 2,929 people have been arrested, and at least five died due to torture in police custody, in June, King Hamad established the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry composed of international independent figures to assess the incidents. It also rejected the claims that the protests were instigated by Iran. The report was criticised for not disclosing the names of individual abusers, in early July 2013, Bahraini activists called for major rallies on 14 August under the title Bahrain Tamarod. The Bahraini uprising is known as 14 February uprising and Pearl uprising. Although the majority of sources refer to it as an uprising, the roots of the uprising date back to the beginning of the 20th century. The Bahraini people have protested sporadically throughout the last decades demanding social, economic, demonstrations were present as early as the 1920s and the first municipal election was held in 1926. The country has been ruled by the House of Khalifa since the Bani Utbah invasion of Bahrain in 1783, in 1926, Charles Belgrave a British national operating as an adviser to the ruler became the de facto ruler and oversaw the transition to a modern state. The National Union Committee formed in 1954 was the earliest serious challenge to the status quo, two year after its formation, NUC leaders were imprisoned and deported by authorities. In 1965, an uprising erupted by oil workers was crushed
Bahrain uprising
–
Left to right: The
National Union Committee in 1954 and the religious block in
1973 Parliament
Bahrain uprising
–
Clockwise from top-left: Protesters raising their hands towards the
Pearl Roundabout on 19 February 2011; clashes between security forces and protesters on 13 March; Over 100,000 Bahrainis taking part in the "
March of loyalty to martyrs ", on 22 February; clashes between security forces and protesters on 13 March; Bahraini armed forces blocking an entrance to a Bahraini village.
Bahrain uprising
Bahrain uprising
–
The late Emir,
Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa dissolved the parliament and suspended the constitution in 1975.
44.
Barack Obama
–
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. He is the first African American to have served as president and he previously served in the U. S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008, and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004. Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state and he grew up mostly in Hawaii, but also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia. After graduating from Columbia University in 1983, he worked as a community organizer in Chicago, in 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School, where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. After graduation, he became a civil rights attorney and professor, Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, when he ran for the U. S. Senate. In 2008, Obama was nominated for president, a year after his campaign began and he was elected over Republican John McCain, and was inaugurated on January 20,2009. Nine months later, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, during his first two years in office, Obama signed many landmark bills. Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, after a lengthy debate over the national debt limit, Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts. In foreign policy, Obama increased U. S. troop levels in Afghanistan, reduced nuclear weapons with the U. S. -Russian New START treaty, and ended military involvement in the Iraq War. He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi, after winning re-election over Mitt Romney, Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013. Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration. In foreign policy, Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60% approval rating. He currently resides in Washington, D. C and his presidential library will be built in Chicago. Obama was born on August 4,1961, at Kapiʻolani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu and he is the only President to have been born in Hawaii. He was born to a mother and a black father. His mother, Ann Dunham, was born in Wichita, Kansas, of mostly English descent, with some German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss and his father, Barack Obama Sr. was a married Luo Kenyan man from Nyangoma Kogelo. Obamas parents met in 1960 in a Russian language class at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the couple married in Wailuku, Hawaii on February 2,1961, six months before Obama was born. In late August 1961, Obamas mother moved him to the University of Washington in Seattle for a year
Barack Obama
–
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
–
Obama with his half-sister
Maya Soetoro-Ng, mother
Ann Dunham and grandfather
Stanley Dunham, in
Honolulu, Hawaii
Barack Obama
–
Obama and others celebrate the naming of a street in Chicago after
ShoreBank co-founder Milton Davis in 1998
Barack Obama
–
Obama in his official portrait as a member of the United States Senate
45.
David Cameron
–
David William Donald Cameron is a British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. He served as the Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016 and was Member of Parliament for Witney from 2001 to 2016, Cameron identifies as a One-Nation Conservative, and has been associated with both economically liberal and socially liberal policies. Born in London to wealthy upper middle-class parents, Cameron was educated at Heatherdown School, Eton College, from 1988 to 1993 he worked at the Conservative Research Department, assisting the Conservative Prime Minister John Major, before leaving politics to work for Carlton Communications in 1994. Becoming an MP in 2001, he served in the shadow cabinet under Conservative leader Michael Howard. Cameron sought to rebrand the Conservatives, embracing an increasingly liberal position. The 2010 general election led to Cameron becoming Prime Minister as the head of a government with the Liberal Democrats. His administration introduced large-scale changes to welfare, immigration policy, education and it privatised the Royal Mail and some other state assets, and legalised same-sex marriage. When the Conservatives secured a majority in the 2015 general election he remained as Prime Minister. To fulfil a manifesto pledge, he introduced a referendum on the UKs continuing membership of the EU, Cameron supported continued membership, following the success of the Leave vote, he resigned to make way for a new Prime Minister and was succeeded by Theresa May. Cameron has been praised for modernising the Conservative Party and for decreasing the United Kingdoms national deficit, conversely, he has been criticised by figures on both the left and right, and has been accused of political opportunism and elitism. Cameron is the son of Ian Donald Cameron a stockbroker, and his wife Mary Fleur, a retired Justice of the Peace. Camerons parents were married on 20 October 1962, the journalist Toby Young has described Camerons background as being upper-upper-middle class. Cameron was born in Marylebone, London, and raised in Peasemore, Berkshire and he has a brother, Alexander Cameron, QC, a barrister, and two sisters, Tania Rachel and Clare Louise. Blairmore was built by Camerons great-great-grandfather, Alexander Geddes, who had made a fortune in the trade in Chicago, Illinois. Blairmore was sold soon after Ians birth, Cameron has said, On my mothers side of the family, her mother was a Llewellyn, so Welsh. Im a real mixture of Scottish, Welsh, and English and he has also referenced the German Jewish ancestry of one of his great-grandfathers, Arthur Levita, a descendant of the Yiddish author Elia Levita. From the age of seven, Cameron was educated at two independent schools, at Heatherdown School in Winkfield in Berkshire, which counts Prince Andrew, owing to good grades, Cameron entered its top academic class almost two years early. At the age of thirteen, he went on to Eton College in Berkshire and his early interest was in art
David Cameron
–
The Right Honourable David Cameron
MP
David Cameron
–
Chapel of Eton College
David Cameron
–
Brasenose College, Oxford
David Cameron
–
The
Home Office building Cameron worked at during the 1990s
46.
Chuck Hagel
–
A recipient of two Purple Hearts while an infantry squad leader in the Vietnam War, Hagel returned home to start careers in business and politics. A member of the Republican Party, Hagel was first elected to the United States Senate in 1996 and he was reelected in 2002, but did not run in 2008. On January 7,2013, President Barack Obama nominated Hagel to serve as Secretary of Defense, on February 12,2013, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved Hagels nomination by a vote of 14–11. On February 14,2013, Senate Republicans denied Democrats the 60 votes needed to end the debate on Hagels nomination and proceed to a final vote, citing the need for further review. It was the first time in U. S. history that a nominee for Secretary of Defense was filibustered, on February 26,2013, the Senate voted for cloture on Hagels nomination and confirmed his nomination by a vote of 58–41. He took office on February 27,2013, as his predecessor Leon Panetta stepped down, before his appointment as Secretary of Defense, Hagel served on a number of boards of directors, including that of Chevron Corporation. Hagel was born in North Platte, Nebraska, a son of Charles Dean Hagel and his father was of German heritage, while his mother was of Irish and Polish ancestry. Growing up, Hagel lived across Nebraska, in Ainsworth, Rushville, Scottsbluff, Terrytown, York and Columbus, Hagel was the oldest of four brothers. His father, a veteran of World War II, died suddenly on Christmas morning,1962, at the age of 39, Hagel volunteered to be drafted into the United States Army during the Vietnam War, rejecting a draft board recommendation that he go to college instead. He served in the United States Army infantry in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, as a Sergeant, he served as an infantry squad leader in the 9th Infantry Division. Hagel served in the infantry squad as his younger brother Tom. They also saved each others lives on separate occasions, Hagel received the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, two Purple Hearts, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge. After his discharge, he worked as a newscaster and talk show host in Omaha from 1969 to 1971 while finishing college on Veterans Administration assistance under the GI Bill. In 1971, Hagel was hired as a staffer for Congressman John Y, after Reagans inauguration as President, Hagel was named deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration. In 1982, however, he resigned his post over a disagreement with VA Administrator Robert P. Nimmo, Nimmo had referred to veterans groups as greedy, and to Agent Orange as not much worse than a little teenage acne. After leaving government employment, Hagel co-founded Vanguard Cellular, a phone service carrier that made him a multi-millionaire. He also served as Chairman of the Agent Orange Settlement Fund and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, on March 15,1995, Hagel resigned from the board of AIS as he intended to run for office. Michael McCarthy, the parent companys founder, was Hagels campaign treasurer, until at least 2003, he retained between $1 million and $5 million in stock in Election Systems & Softwares parent company, the McCarthy Group
Chuck Hagel
–
Chuck Hagel
Chuck Hagel
–
Hagel's portrait as a senator.
Chuck Hagel
–
Hagel in a 2002 visit with
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, and
Afghan Minister of Women's Affairs Sima Samar
Chuck Hagel
–
Senator Chuck Hagel arriving at Camp
Ramadi, during a 2008 visit to U.S. Service members in Iraq
47.
Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
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Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, also spelled Naif or Naeif, 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, Nayef bin Abdulaziz was born in Taif in 1934 to Ibn Saud and Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi, making him one of the Sudairi Seven. He was the son of King Abdulaziz. Prince Nayef received education at Princes School and from senior ulema, additionally, he was educated in diplomacy and security affairs. From 1952 to 1953, Prince Nayef served as governor of Riyadh Province. In 1953, he was appointed as the governor of Riyadh province and he then served as governor of Madinah Province. In 1970, King Faisal appointed him to both deputy interior minister and minister of state for internal affairs, in March 1975, after King Faisals assassination, then-minister of interior Prince Fahd became the crown prince and Prince Nayef was appointed as the minister of interior by King Khalid. In December 1994, he ordered hundreds of terrorism-related arrests with the support of Prince Turki, in April 2001, he, not foreign minister Saud al Faisal, went to Iran as Saudi envoy in an unprecedented move. He issued all women in Saudi Arabia identity cards, women were previously registered under their husbands or fathers name in November 2001. In 2003, Prince Nayef, who was in charge of labor, decreed that foreign workers. Senator Charles Schumer lobbied through Prince Bandar to remove Prince Nayef as Minister of Interior in July 2003 and his political stance was strengthened because of increased media exposure and the successful end to terrorist attacks. In March 2011, during the 2011 Saudi Arabian protests,200 people who called for information on their imprisoned relatives were denied a meeting with Nayef. Therefore, on 27 March 2009, Prince Nayef became second deputy prime minister and his appointment caused a rare public split in the royal family. Prince Talal asked the King to clarify that the appointment did not necessarily mean that Nayef would become Crown Prince and his appointment as second deputy prime minister expanded Prince Nayefs influence into all corners of Saudi domestic policy and allowed him to participate in the development of foreign policy. He was not expected to interfere in matters, but to influence the judiciary. Prince Nayef chaired many cabinet meetings when King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan were away for health reasons, critics said he was behind the cancellation of the nations only film festival in the summer of 2009. In November 2010, he undertook all Hajj-related responsibilities, in some government offices, his picture was added next to King Abdulaziz, King Abdullah, and Crown Prince Sultan. Prince Nayef was appointed Crown Prince and first deputy minister by King Abdullah on 27 October 2011, five days after the death of his full brother
Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
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Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud نايف بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود
Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
48.
Reuters
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Reuters /ˈrɔɪtərz/ is an international news agency headquartered in London, England. It is a division of Thomson Reuters, until 2008, the Reuters news agency formed part of an independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data. Since the acquisition of Reuters Group by the Thomson Corporation in 2008, Reuters transmits news in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Urdu, and Chinese. The Reuter agency was established in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter in Britain at the London Royal Exchange, Paul Reuter worked at a book-publishing firm in Berlin and was involved in distributing radical pamphlets at the beginning of the Revolutions in 1848. Upon moving to England, he founded Reuters Telegram Company in 1851, headquartered in London, the company initially covered commercial news, serving banks, brokerage houses, and business firms. The first newspaper client to subscribe was the London Morning Advertiser in 1858, Reuters agency built a reputation in Europe and the rest of the world as the first to report news scoops from abroad. Reuters was the first to report Abraham Lincolns assassination in Europe, for instance, in 1872, Reuters expanded into the far east, followed by South America in 1874. Both expansions were made possible by advances in overland telegraphs and undersea cables, in 1883, Reuters began transmitting messages electrically to London newspapers. In 1923, Reuters began using radio to transmit news internationally, in 1925, The Press Association of Great Britain acquired a majority interest in Reuters, and full owners some years later. During the world wars, The Guardian reported that Reuters came under pressure from the British government to national interests. In 1941 Reuters deflected the pressure by restructuring itself as a private company, the new owners formed the Reuters Trust. In 1941, the PA sold half of Reuters to the Newspaper Proprieters Association, the Reuters Trust Principles were put in place to maintain the companys independence. At that point, Reuters had become one of the major news agencies. In 1961, Reuters scooped news of the erection of the Berlin Wall, in 1981, Reuters began making electronic transactions on its computer network, and afterwards developed a number of electronic brokerage and trading services. Reuters was floated as a company in 1984, when Reuters Trust was listed on the stock exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange. Reuters published the first story of the Berlin Wall being breached in 1989, share price grew during the dotcom boom, then fell after the banking troubles in 2001. In 2002, Brittanica wrote that most news throughout the world came from three major agencies, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, Reuters merged with Thomson Corporation in Canada in 2008, forming Thomson Reuters. In 2009, Thomson Reuters withdrew from the LSE and the NASDAQ, instead listing its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the last surviving member of the Reuters family founders, Marguerite, Baroness de Reuter, died at age 96 on 25 January 2009
Reuters
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Reuters Building, Canary Wharf, London
Reuters
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Reuters building entrance in
New York City
49.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from 2005 to his death in 2015. He ascended to the throne on 1 August 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, Abdullah, like Fahd, was one of the many sons of Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. Abdullah held important political posts throughout most of his adult life, in 1961 he became mayor of Mecca, his first public office. The following year, he was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard and he also served as deputy defense minister and was named crown prince when Fahd took the throne in 1982. After King Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, Abdullah became the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia until ascending the throne a decade later. During his reign he maintained relations with United States and United Kingdom. He also gave women the right to vote for municipal councils, furthermore, Abdullah maintained the status quo when there were waves of protest in the kingdom during the Arab Spring. In November 2013, a BBC report claimed that, due to the relations it had with Pakistan. The King outlived two of his crown princes, conservative Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud was named heir to the throne on the death of Sultan bin Abdulaziz in October 2011, but Nayef himself died in June 2012. Abdullah then named 76-year-old defense minister, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, according to various reports, Abdullah married up to 30 times, and had more than 35 children. The king had a fortune estimated at US$18 billion, making him the third wealthiest head of state in the world. He died on 23 January 2015, at the age of 90, Abdullah is said to have been born on 1 August 1924 in Riyadh. However, some state that this date is incorrect. He was the son of King Abdulaziz. His mother, Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim, was a member of the Al Rashid dynasty and she was descended from the powerful Shammar tribe – and was the daughter of former tribe chief, Asi Shuraim. She died when Abdullah was six years old, madawi Al-Rasheed argues that his maternal roots and his earlier experience of a speech impediment led to delay in his rise to higher status among the other sons of King Abdulaziz. In 1963, Abdullah was made commander of Saudi National Guard and this post allowed him to secure his position in the House of Saud. SANG, which had based on the Ikhwan, became a modern armed force under his command
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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King Abdullah in January 2007
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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King Abdullah when he was a child.
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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King Abdullah as Commander of
Saudi National Guard
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
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Abdullah with US Vice President
Dan Quayle
50.
Twitter
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Twitter is an online news and social networking service where users post and interact with messages, tweets, restricted to 140 characters. Registered users can post tweets, but those who are unregistered can only read them, users access Twitter through its website interface, SMS or a mobile device app. Twitter Inc. is based in San Francisco, California, United States, Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams and launched in July. The service rapidly gained worldwide popularity, in 2012, more than 100 million users posted 340 million tweets a day, and the service handled an average of 1.6 billion search queries per day. In 2013, it was one of the ten most-visited websites and has described as the SMS of the Internet. As of 2016, Twitter had more than 319 million monthly active users. On the day of the 2016 U. S. presidential election, Twitter proved to be the largest source of breaking news, Twitters origins lie in a daylong brainstorming session held by board members of the podcasting company Odeo. Jack Dorsey, then a student at New York University. The original project name for the service was twttr, an idea that Williams later ascribed to Noah Glass, inspired by Flickr. The developers initially considered 10958 as a code, but later changed it to 40404 for ease of use. Work on the project started on March 21,2006, when Dorsey published the first Twitter message at 9,50 PM Pacific Standard Time, Dorsey has explained the origin of the Twitter title. we came across the word twitter, and it was just perfect. The definition was a short burst of inconsequential information, and chirps from birds, and thats exactly what the product was. The first Twitter prototype, developed by Dorsey and contractor Florian Weber, was used as a service for Odeo employees. Williams fired Glass, who was silent about his part in Twitters startup until 2011, Twitter spun off into its own company in April 2007. Williams provided insight into the ambiguity that defined this early period in a 2013 interview, With Twitter and they called it a social network, they called it microblogging, but it was hard to define, because it didnt replace anything. There was this path of discovery with something like that, where over time you figure out what it is, Twitter actually changed from what we thought it was in the beginning, which we described as status updates and a social utility. It is that, in part, but the insight we eventually came to was Twitter was really more of an information network than it is a social network, the tipping point for Twitters popularity was the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive conference. During the event, Twitter usage increased from 20,000 tweets per day to 60,000, the Twitter people cleverly placed two 60-inch plasma screens in the conference hallways, exclusively streaming Twitter messages, remarked Newsweeks Steven Levy
Twitter
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A blueprint sketch, c. 2006, by
Jack Dorsey, envisioning an
SMS -based
social network.
Twitter
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Twitter's homepage as of August 2015 (only in select countries)
Twitter
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Jack Dorsey, a co-founder and the chairman of Twitter, in 2009
Twitter
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Twitter's San Francisco, California headquarters, as seen from a corner on Market Street
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