Khalid of Saudi Arabia

Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: خالد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, romanized: Khālid bin ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd; 13 February 1913 – 13 June 1982) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 25 March 1975 to his death in 1982. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 29 March 1965 to 25 March 1975. He was the fifth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.

Khalid was the son of King Abdulaziz and Al Jawhara bint Musaed Al Saud. He assisted his half-brother Prince Faisal in his duties as foreign minister of Saudi Arabia. Khalid served as viceroy of the Hejaz region for a brief time in the 1930s. He visited the United States in 1943 together with Faisal, establishing relations between the two countries. He was appointed as the deputy prime minister of Saudi Arabia in 1962. After Khalid's full brother Prince Muhammad stepped aside from the royal succession, King Faisal named Khalid as crown prince in 1965.

Following the assassination of King Faisal in 1975, Khalid ascended to the throne. His reign saw both huge developments in the country due to increase in oil revenues and significant events in the Middle East. In 1979, a group of civilians seized the Grand Mosque of Mecca and sought but failed to kidnap Khalid. Saudi forces regained control over the mosque, but the seizure resulted in the introduction of stricter religious policies in Saudi Arabia. Khalid died in 1982 and was succeeded by his half-brother Fahd.