I met Prince Saud Al-Faisal for the last time in May. I did not expect it to be the last, for although his health was not at its best, he was fully engaged on regional and international issues, exuding confidence and strength, with his great sense of humor in full evidence.
We met Prince Saud in Paris. He was on leave, between treatment and recuperation sessions, but showed the same interest as before about preparations for the GCC-US summit, then in preparation. GCC ministers had arrived earlier to meet with US secretaries of state and energy and other senior US officials to discuss nuclear negotiations and how a deal could affect the region. His words of wisdom were on spot, contributing to the success of the Camp David summit.
I got to know Prince Saud closely since 1999, through the GCC. He was then already a veteran minister, serving as Saudi foreign minister since 1975.
After graduating from Princeton in 1964 with an economics degree, Prince Saud started his career as an oil economist; his last post before becoming foreign minister was deputy minister of petroleum and mineral resources. His 10 years there were marked by historical changes, including nationalization of Saudi oil industry and establishment of a native petrochemical industry. Prince Saud remained an important voice on economic matters through membership in high-level councils and ministerial committees.
His background as economist served him well as the top diplomat; for diplomacy to succeed, it has to be anchored in scientific calculation of costs and benefits, seeking to maximize strategic and economic interests.
However, despite great knowledge and experience, he insisted on teamwork, thorough preparations and seeking others’ advice before making important decisions. While his own opinion was sought and highly valued, he sought consensus, as was fully evident in GCC meetings for example.
Prince Saud was one of the founders of the GCC in May 1981, under the leadership of King Khaled. Foreign ministers played a key role in the years preceding its founding. His contribution was pivotal during a historical meeting held in Kuwait on Feb. 4, 1981 to discuss the Charter and future directions of the organization. The meeting was chaired by Kuwait’s then Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah (now emir of Kuwait) and attended by foreign ministers from all founding members: UAE’s Rashid Abdullah Al-Nuaimi, Bahrain’s Sheikh Muhammed ibn Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Oman’s Qais bin Abdul-Munim Al-Zawawi, and Qatar’s Sheikh Ahmed bin Saif Al-Thani.
The Kuwait meeting was held in the shadow of Iran-Iraq war, where the Arabian Gulf was used as a theater of operations, and oil tankers as targets. Founding ministers discussed options for focusing GCC future work, with one option favoring military emphasis through working jointly with western powers to safeguard maritime navigation. Another was to focus on internal security, immunizing GCC countries against terrorism and Iran’s destabilizing activities. A third view called for emphasis on economic and cultural cooperation, and neutrality in the Iran-Iraq war and the Cold War.
Prince Saud was instrumental in bridging those differences. An experts’ meeting was held in Riyadh, at his suggestion, on Feb. 24, 1981 and another in Muscat on March 4. The foreign ministers reached a consensus in Muscat on March 9 and in Abu Dhabi on May 23, as reflected finally in the GCC Charter and other documents adopted at the historical meeting of GCC leaders in Abu Dhabi on May 25, 1981.
That consensus charted the path followed by the GCC since then — parallel, equally important, tracks for cooperation in economic, internal security, military and political affairs, eschewing lofty slogans for quiet work and concrete results.
Under the GCC Charter, foreign ministers play a very important role: In addition to coordinating foreign policy, they vet recommendations by other ministerial bodies, before they are considered by heads of state. They also review and suggest strategies and policy decisions in all areas of GCC competence.
The GCC was only a small part of Prince Saud’s portfolio. As Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister for four decades, he had to deal with major regional and international events shaping the region’s destiny.
He assumed the post in 1975 amid an international campaign against oil producers, after their success in securing a fair share of oil revenue and nationalizing the oil industry.
He steered Saudi diplomacy in containing major events that followed: In 1979, Iran’s revolution and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused global seismic changes and contributed to the spread of terrorism. Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988, Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and the Sept. 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda’s attacks in the US, threw asunder the established order of the Middle East and the world, and kept Prince Saud on a constant crisis mode until the end.
Saudi Arabia and the GCC will miss Prince Saud Al-Faisal’s leadership, wisdom and eloquence. Those who worked closely with him will miss his kind attention and legendary sense of humor.
