Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz

Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz (fäd ĭb`ən ăbdl` ăzēz`), 1923–2005, king of Saudi Arabia (1982–2005). A son of Ibn Saud, the founder of Saudi Arabia, Fahd served as education minister (1953–62) and interior minister (1962–75) and was named (1975) crown prince by his half-brother King Khalid. He was a powerful shaper of Saudi foreign and domestic policy under Khalid, on whose death (1982) he succeeded to the throne. Fahd's decision to permit U.S. and other foreign forces to based in Saudi Arabia after the invasion of Kuwait was controversial and offended many Muslims. He encouraged limited modernization of Saudi Arabia, but the new constitution (1992) that established an appointed consultative national council left unchanged the royal family's control of the government. As a result of Fahd's prolonged illness following a 1995 stroke, de facto authority rested with Crown Prince Abdullah during the final years of his reign.