Mansour bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Mansour bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( Manṣūr ibn ‘Abdul‘azīz Āl Su‘ūd; 1921 – 2 May 1951) was a Saudi royal and politician who served as the defense minister of Saudi Arabia between 1943 and 1951. During his lifetime Prince Mansour was the third most powerful son of King Abdulaziz after Prince Faisal and Crown Prince Saud.

Early life and education Prince Mansour was born in Qasr Al Hukm, Riyadh, in 1921. but William A. Eddy argues that Prince Mansour is the sixth son of Abdulaziz. who was reportedly the favorite wife of King Abdulaziz. She was of Christian origin.

At age seven Prince Mansour's education began with a private tutor, and he studied Quran and Arabic. Then he was sent to the Saudi Institute in Mecca for further education where he received high school-level education on religion, mathematics and geography. In 1942 he participated in King Abdulaziz's meeting with the British ambassador in Riyadh. He officially visited Cairo when King Abdulaziz sent him there to support the Indian Muslim officers and men just before the Battle of El Alamein. Prince Mansour also acted as an aide to Prince Faisal during the latter's post of viceroy of Hijaz.

Then Prince Mansour was appointed minister of defense and aviation by King Abdulaziz on 10 November 1943 when the office was established which had been titled as the ministry of war since 1940. Therefore, he is the first defense minister of Saudi Arabia.

In December 1944 Prince Mansour visited Khartoum where Saudi army personnel were trained in driving and maintenance. and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Egypt on 17 February 1945.

Prince Mansour asked the British to reorganize the Saudi armed forces in November 1944. As a result of this request the first Saudi military personnel were sent to the United Kingdom to receive aviation training at several institutions, including the Training University Air Service, near Southampton, and the Academy of Aviation in Perth, Scotland. Prince Mansour visited the latter group.

Prince Mansour also headed the Saudi Arabian Airlines when he was serving as defense minister. Prince Talal (1950—2023) was raised by his uncle Prince Mutaib following the death of his father. Prince Mutaib's daughter, Princess Nouf, married Prince Talal who became a member of Allegiance Council in December 2007. Prince Mansour's daughter, Mudhi, published a book entitled Al Hijar Wa Natayjiha Fi 'Asir Al Malik 'Abdul'Aziz in 1993.

Unlike his siblings Prince Mansour was fond of automobiles and machines and spent most of his time in the Royal garage in Riyadh. Concerning the cause of Prince Mansour's death there are two other reports arguing that he died of kidney disease.

Ancestry