THE LIFE OF KING SALMAN King Salman bin Abdulaziz’s life is filled with achievements and he has made enormous contributions to the country’s progress. The 25th son of the Kingdom’s founder, King Salman is expected to continue to provide the steadiness that characterized King Abdullah’s rule over the 28 million inhabitants of the country. By Mohammed Mirza
BEGINNINGS
Born on Dec. 31, 1935, King Salman’s mother is Hessa Ahmad Al Sudairi. He is the brother of former ruler King Fahd and former crown princes Sultan and Nayef bin Abdulaziz. Raised in the Murabba palace in Riyadh, he attended the Princes’ School that was established by his father. In school he studied theology and the sciences. It is also believed that at the same time he started memorizing the Qur'an, which he had memorized by the age of 10.
AN EXPERIENCED LEADER
At the age of 19 he was appointed the Mayor of Riyadh, a post he held for five years. Then in 1963 he was appointed as governor of Riyadh province where his tenure lasted for 48 years, ending in 2011. When he became governor, the city had a population of around 200,000 and by the end of his tenure it stood at over 5 million. The post made him well known
10 DESTINATION RIYADH FEBRUARY 2015