The Tragic Assassination: The Story of the Saudi Monarch Murdered by His Nephew 50 Years Ago

image source, C Maher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Comment on the photo, King Faisal

Article Information

• • Author, Luiz Hidalgo
  • Role, BBC World Service

• 2 hours ago

On March 25, 1975, King Faisal, King of Saudi Arabia, was assassinated in the capital, Riyadh. His nephew shot him at close range.

The Saudi Oil Minister at the time, Ahmed Zaki Yamani, was standing next to the king when the shots were fired.

In 2017, his daughter, Dr. Mai Yamani, spoke to the BBC.

“I will never forget that day. I absorbed that pain, my father’s pain, and I still remember it to this day. Imagine a human being standing next to his teacher, his mentor, his friend, and he was shot at a very close range.”

King Faisal was shot three times in a row while he was bending down to kiss his nephew in greeting.

Dr. Yamani’s father, who had served as a loyal minister to King Faisal for fifteen years, was standing by his side to inform him of the developments at that moment.

King Faisal, who was the third ruler of the oil-rich kingdom and the third son of its founder, was taken to hospital, but died a short time later.

image source, Claude Salhani/Sygma/Getty Images

Comment on the photo, King Faisal’s funeral in 1975 in Riyadh was attended by a number of heads of state, including Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Algerian President Houari Boumediene, and Syrian President Hafez al-Assad.

On that day, a few miles from the city, 18-year-old Mai Yamani was waiting for her father.

“I was sitting in my father’s apartment, surrounded by his books. He came in, with a strange, pained look on his face. He went straight to the dining room, uttered a scream, and managed to utter one word: Disaster.”

This was not his custom, a man who was known for being very calm and calm in his speech. Then he told his daughter what happened.

“A Kuwaiti oil delegation arrived at 10 a.m. and they were on their way to meet King Faisal at the palace, and my father, in his capacity as Minister of Oil, went to update the king,” she says.

She adds: “That prince, ironically, has the same name, Faisal [بن مساعد]He is the king’s nephew. He joined the delegation with the Kuwaiti Oil Minister, and then Faisal opened his arms to embrace his nephew.

She tells the BBC: “The nephew takes out a small gun from his pocket and shoots the king three times in the head, while my father stands near him.”

According to some reports at the time, the attacker later told police that Yamane was standing so close that he thought he had killed him, too.

Yamani then went to the hospital with King Faisal, where the king’s death was confirmed.

“After that, silence prevailed. The streets of Riyadh were empty, and silence prevailed,” says Yamani.

Reformist monarch

Faisal took over the rule of Saudi Arabia in 1964, leading “a desert the size of Western Europe” towards a new era. Britain welcomed him as “the new Arab friend” and described his mission as “modernizing one of the most backward countries in the Middle East,” as BBC presenter David Dimbleby said at the time.

But the question was: Can he accomplish this mission without losing his throne?

Faisal was one of King Abdulaziz Al Saud’s eldest sons, and participated in his father’s campaign to unify the Arabian Peninsula, which ended with the founding of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia thirty years ago. After the death of his father, his older brother took power, and Faisal served as Prime Minister during his reign.

When Faisal became king, he enjoyed a distinguished political reputation, and was known for being skillful, pious, diligent, and a reformer open to foreign capitals. He sought to use the country’s newly discovered oil wealth to build modern state institutions and develop the kingdom’s education, health, and judicial system.

But his reforms were not always welcomed by the more conservative elements of the hard-line religious movement allied with the royal family. When he opened the first television station in the Kingdom in the mid-1960s, the building was subjected to an armed attack led by the brother of the man who would later kill him.

Also during his reign, female education was introduced into the formal educational system. Dr. Mai Yamani says: “Queen Iffat, King Faisal’s second wife, started a girls’ education project in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.” She adds: “I am proud that I was one of the first nine female students in her school, and King Faisal convinced the religious establishment that educating women makes them better mothers. The school was called Dar Al Hanan.”

image source, Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Comment on the photo, Ahmed Zaki Yamani was an ordinary, highly educated citizen and lawyer, but he was not part of the Saudi royal family.

Yamani began working for King Faisal in 1960. This was unusual, because he was a commoner, highly educated and a lawyer, but not part of the Saudi royal family.

King Faisal read some articles he wrote, which caught his attention.

Al-Yamani said: “My father opened the first law firm, and then he began writing the most provocative articles, demanding democracy and good governance. He signed them in the name of a person called Abu Mai, because I was his eldest daughter. Faisal, who was the crown prince at the time, said: ‘Who is this man?’ Because he was looking for a legal advisor.”

Later, King Faisal appointed Ahmed Zaki, or “Sheikh Yamani” as he later became known, as Minister of Oil.

Yamani, in cooperation with the king, developed a policy that gave Saudi Arabia for the first time full control over its huge oil assets and made it a force to be reckoned with in the Arab world and on the international scene.

Power shift

In 1973, after war broke out between Israel and its Arab neighbors, Saudi Arabia, then the world’s largest oil producer, led a campaign to use oil as a political weapon for the first time.

Oil supplies to countries supporting Israel were reduced, leading to a sharp rise in global oil prices. Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani was entrusted with delivering the message, and he said: “What we want is the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the occupied Arab territories, and then the oil level will return to what it was in September 1973.”

Yamani stressed that the significant rise in oil prices will lead to a change in the global balance of power between developing oil-producing countries and advanced industrial countries. This transformation was truly embodied when Time magazine chose King Faisal as Person of the Year in 1974, that is, one year before his assassination.

Dr. Mai Yamani says: “We do not know the real reason behind the king’s assassination, except that the killer was a disturbed man. I was eighteen years old at the time, and I felt my father’s pain, and I still remember him to this day.”

Sheikh Yamani remained Minister of Oil in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for eleven years after the incident, until 1986. As for Dr. Yamani, she continued her university studies in the United States, and became the first Saudi woman to obtain a doctorate from the University of Oxford.

Yamani wrote a number of books on Arab identity, and also worked as a consultant for banks such as Goldman Sachs and major oil companies such as Shell.

This script is based on an episode of the programme “History of witnesses” Which is broadcast by the BBC World Service in English.

What were the primary motivations suggested for Prince Khalid bin musa’id’s assassination of King Faisal?

The Reign of King Faisal: A modernizing Force

King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a pivotal figure in 20th-century Saudi Arabia, ascended to the throne in 1964 following the deposition of his brother, King Saud. His reign (1964-1975) was marked by aspiring modernization efforts, pan-Islamic solidarity, and a firm stance on oil policy. Faisal aimed to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil, investing in education, healthcare, and infrastructure. He was a key player in the formation of OPEC (association of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and the 1973 oil crisis, wielding Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves as a political tool. This period saw significant social changes, though within the framework of conservative Islamic values. Understanding faisal’s policies is crucial to understanding the context of his assassination. Keywords: King Faisal, Saudi Arabia, modernization, OPEC, oil crisis, Faisal bin abdulaziz.

The Assassin: Prince khalid bin Musa’id

Prince Khalid bin Musa’id, the nephew of King Faisal, was born in 1947. He was the son of Prince Musa’id bin Abdulaziz, who had briefly been heir apparent to King Saud. Khalid’s upbringing was steeped in privilege, but accounts suggest a troubled youth marked by emotional instability and psychological issues. He reportedly struggled with learning disabilities and faced difficulties integrating into the rigid structure of the Saudi royal family.While publicly appearing to fulfill royal duties, concerns about his mental state were known within the inner circle. The motivations behind his actions remain complex and debated, but a history of personal struggles appears to be a significant factor. Keywords: Prince Khalid bin Musa’id, Saudi Royal Family, assassination, mental health, Saudi Arabia.

The Assassination: A Shocking Act in Riyadh

On March 25, 1975, King Faisal was assassinated in Riyadh. Prince Khalid approached the King during a public reception, ostensibly to greet him. Instead, he produced a pistol and shot Faisal twice – once in the neck and once in the head. The assassination unfolded in front of numerous witnesses, including members of the royal family and goverment officials. Accounts detail immediate chaos and confusion as security forces apprehended Khalid. Faisal was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after. The event sent shockwaves throughout Saudi arabia and the international community. Keywords: Faisal assassination,Riyadh,1975,Saudi arabia,royal assassination.

Immediate Aftermath and Khalid’s Trial

Following the assassination, Prince Khalid was immediately taken into custody.A swift and highly publicized trial followed. Khalid offered varying accounts of his motives, initially claiming he acted to “relieve the nation of its suffering.” Later, he suggested he was motivated by personal grievances and a desire to prevent the King from enacting policies he disagreed with.The trial lasted only a few months. He was found guilty of regicide and sentenced to death.

* The Sentence: Khalid was beheaded on June 18, 1975, fulfilling the traditional Saudi punishment for capital crimes.

* Public Reaction: The swift justice served as a presentation of the Saudi legal system’s unwavering submission of Sharia law, even to members of the royal family.

* International Coverage: The assassination and subsequent trial garnered extensive international media attention, focusing on the stability of the Saudi monarchy and the implications for global oil markets. Keywords: Saudi justice system, sharia law, regicide, trial, execution.

Theories and Lingering Questions

While officially attributed to the actions of a mentally unstable individual, various theories surrounding the assassination have persisted over the years.

1. Political Conspiracy: some speculate that Khalid was a pawn in a larger political conspiracy,potentially involving disgruntled elements within the royal family or foreign powers seeking to destabilize Saudi Arabia. However,concrete evidence supporting these claims remains elusive.
2. Religious Extremism: Another theory suggests Khalid was influenced by extremist religious ideologies that opposed Faisal’s modernization policies.
3. Personal Grievances: The moast widely accepted explanation remains rooted in Khalid’s personal struggles and psychological instability, exacerbated by perceived injustices or slights.

The lack of a fully obvious examination and the inherent secrecy surrounding the Saudi royal family have fueled these ongoing debates.Keywords: conspiracy theories, Saudi politics, religious extremism, Faisal assassination investigation.

The Succession and Khalid bin Abdulaziz’s Ascendancy

Following Faisal’s death, his half-brother, Prince Khalid bin Abdulaziz, ascended to the throne. Khalid’s reign (1975-1982) was characterized by a continuation of Faisal’s modernization policies, albeit at a more cautious pace. He focused on consolidating power and maintaining stability in the wake of the assassination. The event profoundly impacted the Saudi political landscape, leading to increased security measures and a greater emphasis on internal cohesion. Keywords: King Khalid, succession, Saudi monarchy, political stability.

The Legacy of King Faisal and the Shadow of the Assassination

King Faisal remains a revered figure in Saudi Arabia, remembered for his strong leadership, commitment to Islamic principles, and efforts to modernize the kingdom. The circumstances surrounding his assassination continue to be a sensitive topic, often discussed in hushed tones. The event serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of power and the potential for tragedy