Former Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal Dies at 75 · Global Voices
Faten Bushehri

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 5th March 2015 — Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal addresses reporters during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. State Department photo/Handout — John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, travels to Saudi Arabia to discuss the latest developments on the Nuclear Talks and ISIS with the GCC and to meet with King Salman of Saudi Arabia to ease the fears of the Sunni country over Shia Iran. Photograph by Demotix Live News. Al-Faisal was proclaimed dead today. Copyright: Demotix
After 40 years of service, former Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has died at the age of 75 today. He earned the title of the longest serving minister in the world in April when he was replaced by Adel al-Jubeir, who was the ambassador to Washington DC at the time.
Al-Faisal was a regional key player and an influential figure in Middle Eastern diplomacy, who had significant power in running the Kingdom's foreign affairs.
Al-Faisal was the main commander and chief that ran the country, which was evident in the latest leaked Saudi Cables. A large amount of the cables were addressed to him briefing him on little matters, and another large amount was signed by him corresponding with worldwide governments. He was indeed “micro-managing the foreign department“.
Lawyer Mohammed BELLO holds Al-Faisal accountable for the Syrian Crisis:
Former Saudi FM Prince Saud al-Faisal -Architect of the Conflict in #Syria is Dead. @AJENews http://t.co/gAXEkyk1Ne
— Mohammed BELLO (@Pastoralist1) July 9, 2015
The Arabic hashtag for Saud Al-Faisal has a thread of tweets mourning his death and remembering his achievements in the Kingdom.
And Iraqi Ali Hadi Al-Musawi describes Al-Faisal's meddling in Iraq as “destructive”:
Former Saudi foreign minister Saud al-Faisal is dead. Here's a glimpse into some of his destructive meddling in Iraq https://t.co/BSTEixOZbt
— Ali Hadi Al-Musawi (@ahmusawi) July 9, 2015
One popular Twitter account @heekmh, tweeted to its over 2 million followers a video of Al-Faisal's last public speech:
#سعود_الفيصل أخر كلمة قالها رحمه الله قبل استقالته من الوزارة لسنا دعاة حرب ..ولكن إن قرعت طبولها فنحنُ جاهزون لها pic.twitter.com/zNdyg6muVr
— أقوال وحكم الفلاسفة (@heekmh) July 9, 2015
Suad Al Faisal's last speech before he resigned from the ministry. We are not advocating for war but we are ready for when the drums toll
Many users tweeted identical texts, saying Saudi Arabia has not yet recovered from King Abdullah's death.
Nora Al Khalidi notes:
ما حسبنا حسَاب جرحيّن في عام 😔 اي وربك للحِين مآ برى جرح السعوديه رحمكم الله و اسكنكَم فسيح جناته #سعود_الفيصل pic.twitter.com/rO4VyDUCuq
— NoraAlkhaldi✨ (@Noraa1Nora) July 9, 2015
We have not accounted for two wounds in one year. Saudi Arabia's would has not yet healed.
Saudi Tareq Wasmi shares a collage of photographs of Al Faisal:
The world lost a great man. #RIP Prince Saud Al Faisal#Riyadh #SaudAlFaisal #saudi #ksa pic.twitter.com/yosgxuWCGM
— Tareq Wasmi ✨ 20K ✨ (@Tareq55557) July 9, 2015
And the German Embassy in Riyadh described Al Faisal as a “respected statesman” in a tweet:
Condolences on the passing away of HRH Prince #SaudAlFaisal, long-serving Foreign Minister & respected statesman #KSA pic.twitter.com/ox3gFxiT4y
— GermanyinKSA (@GermanyinKSA) July 9, 2015
Other Saudis, however, were not as forgiving in their comments. Gulf commentator/analyst and investigative journalist Ali AlAhmed wasn't too kind. In two tweets, he describes Al Faisal as a “racist” and a “Shia xenophobe”:
Former Saudi #Saudi foreign minister AlFaisal who  died today was a racist who refused 2 appoint a single black diplomat @KSAMOFA @JohnKerry
— Ali AlAhmed (@AliAlAhmed_en) July 9, 2015
Breaking: Former #Saudi  foreign minister & Shia xenophobe Saud AlFaisal dies.He refused 2 appoint a single Shia diplomat for 42 years @cnni
— Ali AlAhmed (@AliAlAhmed_en) July 9, 2015
Check out our coverage on the Saudi Cables here: WikiLeaks Reveals the #SaudiCables