HRH Prince Faisal

HRH Prince Faisal Fahd Abdul Aziz was educated in political science, economics, and management at the University of California at Santa Barbara. As a member of the House of Saud, he became a high-level politician within the Saudi Arabian government, serving as director of General Administration for Youth Welfare, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs beginning in 1971. He was director-general in the Ministry of Planning starting in 1977, after which he was Minister of State and was a private “emissary to Iraq.”

In sports Prince Faisal held multiple posts in Saudi Arabian sporting federations. He was President of the Saudi Basketball Federation from 1963-77, secretary-general of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee from 1973-75, after which he served as President; President of the National Football Federation beginning in 1973; President of the Union of Arab Football Associations from 1975; and President of the Arab Sports Confederation starting in 1976. He became an IOC Member in 1983 and served on the Cultural Commission from 1984-87, remaining on the IOC until his early death from a heart attack in 1999.