He was 75. The prince had undergone multiple surgeries in recent years for his back, which left him walking with a cane, and for other ailments.
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The official announcement, however, did not give the cause of his death.
“All the neighbourhood, if you will, will be at peace with Israel, will recognise their right to exist”.
John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, called Saud “a man of vast experience, personal warmth, great dignity”.
His term ended on April 29, 2015, when he was replaced by Adel Al-Jubeir, ex- Saudi ambassador to the US.
Kerry expressed his condolences to the prince’s family. “Even after his death, his legacy is yet to be finalised”, said one Arab commentator.
Equally at home in Arab robes or a tweed suit and tie, and as fluent in English as in Arabic, Prince Saud proved adept at cutting through diplomatic niceties to deliver Saudi Arabia’s message with pith and wit. He was widely known for his sense of humor and charisma that were not so common among royal family members.
He is survived by his wife and six children.
Prince Saud suffered from Parkinson’s disease, yet despite his slurred speech in the last years of his life, he still maintained clarity.
He served in that job until 1975 when he was named foreign minister following his father’s murder by a deranged relative in the royal court.
King Faisal is famous for orchestrating the 1973 oil embargo on the US for its support of Israel in the Yom Kippur War.
Those concerns have grown as the United States, France, Britain, China, Germany and Russian Federation try to finalize with Tehran an agreement to prevent it from getting a nuclear weapon. Saud presided over Saudi Arabia’s stances on the Arab-Israeli conflict, Palestinian intifadas and Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Saudi-American relations, which had already been strained by the attacks of September 11 in the United States since 15 of the 19 perpetrators were Saudis, reached a new low following the invasion.
Ex- Saudi Foreign Minister led Saudi diplomacy over a period of time that saw the kingdom being more production across the country.
King Salman came to the throne in January after the death of his half-brother King Abdullah.
“I personally admired him greatly, valued his friendship and appreciated his wise counsel”.
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Prince Saud was born in 1940 and was among Saudi Arabia’s first generation to receive a Western education.
