One this day, 89 years ago, our beloved country was born, different regions in the Arabian island got united by the founding father king Abdulaziz Al-Saud, that single achievement led to create one of the most influential countries in the world.
From that day on, and across 89 years, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has evolved exponentially, and its 7 kings dedicated their effort to make it one of the most developed countries around the globe.
This essay will highlight some of the essential achievements from the life of every king that was part of the comprehensive development of our great country.
King Saud bin Abdulaziz was the second king after the founding father, he came to power in 1953, and he took a great interest in education, which is why one of his first decisions were the establishment of the ministry of education, he also established the first three universities in the KSA, among them was King Saud university the first university in the Arabian island, in addition to the establishment of the first female schools in 1960.
Third in place was King Faisal, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the world, especially the Muslim world due to his exceptional concern about the Palestinian issue and the establishment of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
On a national scale, king Faisal established several agriculture projects and the expansion of water preserving infrastructures, in addition to the establishment of Imam Mohammad bin Saud university in Riyadh and Petromin corporation, one of the biggest public corporation in the Saudi Arabia.
Unfortunately, and after a lot of dedication in servicing his country and his religion, King Faisal was assassinated in his office in 1975.
king Khalid came to power after king Faisal, his period was the shortest among his brothers, which lasted only for 8 years, however the sharp increase of oil income which reflected positively on the individuals and companies’ income helped to make his period one of the best periods in the history of Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, he established 6 new ministries, the royal committee in Yanbu and AL-Jubail, and the establishment of the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), private corporation owned by the government which grew over the years to be one of the biggest companies in the region and the world.
The custodian of the two holy mosques king Fahad was the first king to take on this name and the 5th king to role Saudi Arabia, during his time the basic law of governance was approved, alongside council of ministers law and Al- Shura council law, in addition to the ministry of Islamic affairs and several new airports around the country.
One of his greatest achievements was the giant project of expanding both the grand mosque in Makkah and the prophet mosque in Madinah, to reach the capacity of more than one million prayers during Ramadan and Hajj season.
The 6th king was king Abdullah who came to power in 2005, both economy and education were his major concerns.
Staring with education, he established 17 new universities, more than any king so far, among them was KAUST; King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, one of the most influential education institutions in the region and the world, alongside Safeer programme, which offering the opportunity for Saudi students to study abroad.
Off to economy and during his time, king Abdullah established the general anti-corruption committee, in addition to KAFD; King Abdullah Financial District, which gathers the headquarters of the financial governmental authorities, the top financial companies, and the top service providers in their fields all in one place.
Last but not least, King Salman is the 7th king and the current king of Saudi Arabia, he and his son HRH crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman are leading the country through unprecedented movement of development and flourishing.
One of the most important factors to these developments was the introduction of Vision 2030, by HRH crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman on the 25th of April 2016, a long plan that will revolutionize the economic status of Saudi Arabia, its cornerstones concepts are: a vibrant society, thriving economy, and an ambitious nation, which we invite everyone to learn more about from their official website https://vision2030.gov.sa/en/node.
During his time, king Salman empowered women through number of decisions, high among them was allowing women to drive, appointing number of women as members of the Al- Shura council, and appointing the first female ambassador in the history of Saudi Arabia princess Reema Bint Bandar to be the first Saudi ambassador to the USA.
At the end, this was just a brief of 89 years story, the full story can not be told in a page or two, however, small window into the life of 7 people who played and continues to play the major role in shaping the future of this country can give us a glance about what this country and these people have done to serve us, and what should we do in return.
Happy 89th National Day
Translation department
Legal Illuminations Initiative