Mutaib bin Abdullah Al Saud

Early life and education

Prince Mutaib was born on 26 March 1952. However, other sources report his birth year as 1953{{cite journal|author=Guido Steinberg

Mutaib is one of 36 children{{cite news|title=تعرّف على أبناء وبنات الملك عبد الله الـ36|url=https://al-sharq.com/article/23/01/2015/%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%91%D9%81-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A3%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8036|access-date=11 September 2020|work=Al Sharq

Mutaib bin Abdullah and his older brother Khalid attended Brummana High School in Lebanon and completed their secondary education in Jeddah.{{cite book|author=Joseph A. Kechichian|title=Succession in Saudi Arabia|year=2001

Career

Prince Mutaib served as head of the commission responsible for reviewing the curricula of military college built in 1982. One year later, in 1983, King Fahd promoted Mutaib bin Abdullah to the rank of Colonel, and he was also appointed commander of the King Khalid Military City.

In 1990, Prince Mutaib began to serve as deputy head of the military under the chairmanship of the National Guard{{cite news|title=10 Saudi Royals Who Could Become the Next Crown Prince|url=http://riyadhbureau.com/succession/|access-date=25 February 2013|work=Riyadh Bureau

On 17 November 2010, Mutaib bin Abdullah became the commander of SANG, replacing King Abdullah.{{cite web|title=Prince Badr steps down, Prince Mit'eb appointed new commander of the National Guard|url=http://www.saudiembassy.or.jp/En/PressReleases/2010/20101117.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419020612/http://www.saudiembassy.or.jp/En/PressReleases/2010/20101117.htm|archive-date=19 April 2012|url-status=dead|work=Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Tokyo|access-date=6 June 2012|date=17 November 2010}}{{cite news

His appointment was commonly considered to reflect King Abdullah's emphasis that it was time to start giving the power to the next generation in a way that would reduce the risk of a power struggle within the Saudi royal family. His appointment was also regarded as a move to prepare him for assuming higher-level responsibility in the future.{{cite news |access-date=29 May 2013|newspaper=Asharq Alawsat|url=http://www.aawsat.net/2013/05/article55303379|date=28 May 2013}}

Arrest

Main article: 2017 Saudi Arabian purge

On 4 November 2017 Prince Mutaib was arrested and removed from his position as minister of the National Guard and replaced by Khalid bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ayyaf Al Muqrin in the post.

Prince Mutaib was accused of embezzlement, hiring ghost employees and awarding contracts to his own companies including a $10 billion deal for walkie talkies and bulletproof military gear worth billions of Saudi riyals. Prince Mutaib was released on 28 November 2017 after agreeing to pay authorities a sum, reported to be over $1 billion,{{cite news

Other positions

Prince Mutaib was appointed as a cabinet member with the rank of minister of state in November 2010.{{cite web|title=Prince Mit'ab bin Abdallah opens patients safety conference|url=http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/readsinglenews.php?id=991067&content_id=&scroll=1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128112635/http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/readsinglenews.php?id=991067&content_id=&scroll=1|archive-date=28 January 2015|work=Saudi Press Agency|access-date=22 April 2012|date=22 April 2012|url-status=dead}} He was a member of the Military Service Council.{{cite news|title=Saudi- Authority to monitor audiovisual media|work=MEFAFN|date=4 September 2012|agency=Arab News

Business activities

At the beginning of the 2000s, Prince Mutaib was the local representative for the Ford Motor Corporation in Saudi Arabia.

Influence

In 1997, Paul Michael Wihbey correctly predicted that Crown Prince Abdullah would make his son, Prince Mutaib, the commander of SANG and that Mutaib would modernize SANG's capabilities in regard to counter-insurgency, information collection and tactical field operations. He also regarded Mutaib as a knowledgeable and highly competent commanding officer with strong professional ties to the U.S. military. It was also emphasized that Prince Mutaib developed close relations with powerful regional political and military leaders, including King Hussein and Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Ozal.{{cite journal|author=Paul Michael Wihbey |title=Succession in Saudi Arabia: The not so silent struggle|journal=IASPS Research Papers in Strategy|date=July 1997|issue=4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523155715/http://www.iasps.org/strategic4/SA.htm|archive-date=23 May 2012|url-status=dead

Prince Mutaib's influence seems to begin when he was a military officer in the SANG as a result of being the main advisor to his father, Abdullah, commander of the SANG. During his post in the SANG under King Abdullah's command, Prince Mutaib was reported to answer only to him.{{cite web|title=The role of Saudi princes in uniform|url=http://cables.mrkva.eu/cable.php?id=64 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026024815/http://cables.mrkva.eu/cable.php?id=64|archive-date=26 October 2011|url-status=dead

Mutaib bin Abdullah is reported to have some characteristics that make him one of the leading second generation princes: his low-profile political status; conservative personal approach and commitment to his father’s doctrine in addition to his strong tribal bonds. However, he is also characterized as both an ambitious and a respectable person. After the death of Crown Prince Nayef on 16 June 2012, Prince Mutaib was regarded as one of the possible contenders for the crown.{{cite news

Views

Saudi university students organized demonstrations at King Khalid University in March 2012, complaining about negative conditions. Prince Mutaib considered these demonstrations as a threat against the security of the Kingdom. He told that reducing problems and meeting the students' demands were not more urgent than security and stability of the country. He further argued that as a result of recent events in the Arab countries, they should be alert to maintain the stability and security of Saudi Arabia.{{cite news|author=Y. Admon|title=First Signs of Protest by Sunnis in Saudi Arabia|work=MEMRI|access-date=27 May 2012

In Spring 2013 Prince Mutaib stated "religion (should) not enter into politics" which led a serious concern among religious leaders.{{cite journal|author=James M. Dorsey|title=Wahhabism vs. Wahhabism: Qatar challenges Saudi Arabia|journal=RSIS Working Paper

Personal life

Mutaib bin Abdullah is married to Jawahir bint Abdullah, who is a daughter of his father's uncle Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman. They have six children, three daughters and three sons:{{cite web|title=Biography of Prince Mitab bin Abdullah|access-date=4 May 2012

His son Abdullah participated in various horse showjumping events. More significantly, Prince Abdullah bin Mutaib had two Olympic appearances, one in 2012 London Olympics.{{cite news

References

References

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