Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud

Prince Abdullah has been Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister since June 1982. He was born in Riyadh in 1924 and received formal education from religious scholars and intellectuals. Prince Abdullah has commanded the Saudi National Guard since 1963. [1] (http://saudiembassy.net/gov_profile/profile_councilold)

One year after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the United States, the prince wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, which ended with:

"God Almighty, in His wisdom, tests the faithful by allowing such calamities to happen. But He, in His mercy, also provides us with the will and determination, generated by faith, to enable us to transform such tragedies into great achievements, and crises that seem debilitating are transformed into opportunities for the advancement of humanity. I only hope that, with your cooperation and leadership, a new world will emerge out of the rubble of the World Trade Center: a world that is blessed by the virtues of freedom, peace, prosperity and harmony." [2] (http://highmarkfunds.stockpoint.com/highmarkfunds/newspaper.asp?Mode=Middle%2BEast&Story=20020910/253p3178.xml)