Aramco ExPats has learned that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, head of the House of Saud, will visit Washington, DC in early September for meetings with President Barack Obama. This will be King Salman’s first visit to the United States since 2012 and first since he assumed the crown in January of this year following the death of his half-brother, King Abdullah. King Salman is the son of Abdulaziz ibn Abdul Rahman ibn Faisal ibn Turki ibn Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al-Saud —known in the Arab world as Abdulaziz, best known elsewhere in the world as Ibn Saud—the founder and first monarch of the modern Saudi State. Born on the last day of December 1935, King Salman received his education at the Prince’s School in Riyadh, where he majored in religion and modern science. After serving as Deputy Governor of Riyadh, he assumed the governorship in April 1955, retaining that post through December of 1960 and assuming it again in 1963 when he was named Minister of Defense. Throughout his life, King Salman has won great respect for his work on various humanitarian and service committees providing relief to victims of natural and man-made disasters. Many countries have honored him with medals, decorations and awards for his service to people from around the world.
Included among King Salman’s awards are an honorary doctorate from the Islamic University of Madinah and the Kant Medal, awarded to him in 1910 by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The Academy had this to say in 2010 about then-Prince Salman when it granted him the first-ever Kant Medal in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the promotion of science in an international context: HRH Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud was born in Riyadh, studying among other things the Quran and the Sharia under the great Islamic scholars and sheikhs. He is one of the highest-ranking and most influential members of the Saudi Arabian royal family. He is Governor of the Riyadh Region, which under his leadership and with his sustained support has developed into the impressive political, economic, administrative and, especially, scientific-cultural center of the country, with numerous universities, museums and monuments. For decades, Prince Salman has engaged in humanitarian, social, medical and scientific issues worldwide. He is the founder of many foundations and has been honored with the highest awards. His activities have an international reputation, which extends far beyond the Arab world.
Prince Salman is the initiator of the eponymous “Prince Salman Science Oasis” in Riyadh, whose purpose is to develop an interactive science center and to raise and promote public interest and awareness of science. The “Prince Salman Science Oasis” acts as a socially integrated scientific platform, thus making a pioneering contribution to the teaching of science and to the strengthening of the public dialogue. He is also president of the “Riyadh Philanthropic Society for Science.” By offering the prestigious “Prince Salman Prize for Research Excellence,” which is awarded by the Saudi Society for Libraries and Information, an impressive attempt has been made to make visible and reward academic excellence. Prince Salman encourages other universities in Saudi Arabia to do the same. In addition to his outstanding commitment to education and science, Prince Salman has provided lasting services in the medico-social sector. The United Nations has awarded him for his fight against poverty in the world as well as for his humanitarian commitment in the Philippines. In 2009 he was awarded the “Special Olympics in Middle East and North Africa International Award” in great appreciation for his service to people with disabilities in Saudi Arabia and to the strengthening of research in this field. With the award of the Kant Medal, which has been awarded now for the first time, the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences recognizes Prince Salman’s outstanding contribution to the promotion of education and science. We welcome King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud to the United States.