Mohammed bin Faisal Al Saud

Early life and education

Mohammed bin Faisal was born in Taif in 1937.{{cite book|author=Sabri Sharif|title=The House of Saud in Commerce: A Study of Royal Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia|year=2001|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=51Bb8Ix7xw8C&pg=PA151|publisher=I. S. Publication

Mohammed bin Faisal started his education at Al Madrasa An Numuthagiya (The Model School) which was opened by his parents in Taif in 1942. He was the first of his siblings to study abroad.{{cite magazine|author=Katrina Thomas|volume=30|title=America as Alma Mater|magazine=Aramco World|access-date=6 November 2022|issue=3 |access-date=26 February 2013|newspaper=Lewiston Evening Journal|date=5 April 1975|location=Jeddah}}

Early career

Mohammed bin Faisal began his career in 1963 at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and worked under Anwar Ali, director of SAMA.{{cite thesis|author=Gary Samuel Samore|title=Royal Family Politics in Saudi Arabia (1953-1982)|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/303295482|location=Harvard University|page=254|year=1984|degree=PhD

In August 1965, Mohammed was appointed director of the saline water conversion office at the ministry of water and agriculture. He played a significant role in the establishment of the water desalination program during this period.{{cite web|author=Simon Henderson|title=After King Fahd|work=Washington Institute

Business activities

Mohammed bin Faisal began to be involved in business after his resignation. During this period, he financially supported a study about the feasibility of bringing Antarctic icebergs to Mecca.{{cite book|author=Marq de Villiers|title=Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|url=https://archive.org/details/water00marq|url-access=registration

His most significant investments were in the fields of banking and finance, making him one of the pioneers in Islamic banking.{{cite book

Prince Mohammed cofounded Dar Al Maal Al Islami Trust (DMI group) in 1981.{{cite book|page=129

Through his Turkish associate Ahmet Gürkan, who would be a deputy of the Justice and Development Party, Prince Mohammed held private meetings with the military President Kenan Evren, other generals who were part of the military council and Prime Minister Bülend Ulusu to establish a branch of the bank in Turkey.{{cite web|author=Behlül Özkan

Prince Mohammed founded Faisal Private Bank in 1990 which is the pioneer banking institution in Islamic finance industry.{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325130717/http://www.myswiss.org/smba/web/smba_web.nsf/0/E7A470FEBEC4BFC6482577D10021668A?OpenDocument&pg=dir5|url-status=dead|archive-date=25 March 2014|access-date=30 May 2012}} Prince Mohammed was also the president of Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank which was founded in 1975.{{cite book|author=Traute Scharf|year=1983|publisher=OECD Publishing

In addition to the banking sector, Prince Mohammed had other business enterprises. He was a shareholder of Saudi and Gulf Enterprise Ltd. based in Jeddah.

Other positions

Mohammed bin Faisal established Al Manarat International Schools which have branches in Saudi Arabia and in other countries. He was also a member of the Effat University's board of founders and of trustees.

Controversy

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the families of the victims launched a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed along with two other members of the Al Saud, namely Prince Sultan and Prince Turki, in addition to other people whom they accused of financing Al Qaeda. In 2009, further evidence was gathered by the families, and a Washington DC–based lawyer, Michael Kellogg, represented Prince Mohammed in the lawsuit.{{cite news|author=Eric Lichtblau|page=11

Personal life

Mohammed bin Faisal married Muna bint Abdul Rahman bin Azzam Pasha, daughter of Azzam Pasha.{{cite book

Mohammed bin Faisal was the winner of the 2007 IDB Prize in Islamic Banking and Finance which is awarded by Islamic Research and Training Institute of the Islamic Development Bank.{{cite web|title=HRH Prince Mohamed Al Faisal Al Saud Wins the 1426h IDB Prize in Islamic Banking & Finance|url=https://www.isdb.org/news/hrh-prince-mohamed-al-faisal-al-saud-wins-the-1426h-idb-prize-in-islamic-banking-finance

Death

On 14 January 2017, Prince Mohammed died, and it was announced that the funeral prayers would be performed at the Grand Mosque in Mecca.{{cite news|title=Saudi Royal Court announces death of Prince Mohammed bin Faisal|url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/region/saudi-arabia/saudi-royal-court-announces-death-of-prince-mohammed-bin-faisal-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud|access-date=9 August 2020|work=Khaleej Times|date=15 January 2017

References

References

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23. (14 January 2017). "Royal Court Announces Death of Prince Mohammed bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud". Saudi Press Agency.