King Fahd was the eighth son of King Abdulaziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia.
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39 Facts About King Fahd
2.
King Fahd served as minister of education from 1953 to 1962 during the reign of King Saud.
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3.
King Fahd was appointed crown prince when his half-brother Khalid became king following the assassination of King Faisal in 1975.
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4.
King Fahd is credited for having introduced the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia in 1992.
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5.
King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke in 1995, after which he was unable to continue performing his full official duties.
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7.
King Fahd was the eighth son of King Abdulaziz, and his eldest son by Hassa bint Ahmed Al Sudairi.
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9.
King Fahd received education for four years as a result of his mother's urging.
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10.
King Fahd then went on to receive education at the Religious Knowledge Institute in Mecca.
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11.
Prince King Fahd was made a member of the royal advisory board at his mother's urging.
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12.
King Fahd led his first official state visit in 1953, attending the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of the House of Saud.
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13.
Prince King Fahd led the Saudi delegation to the League of Arab States in 1959, signifying his increasing prominence in the House of Saud and his being groomed for a more significant role.
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14.
On 2 January 1967 Prince King Fahd survived an assassination attempt when an explosion occurred in his private office at the ministry.
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15.
King Fahd was not there during the incident, but the explosion injured nearly 40 staff of the ministry.
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16.
Between October 1969 and May 1970 Prince King Fahd was on leave which was regarded by Nadav Safran as an indication of major confrontation in the government.
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17.
However, King Khalid had an influence over Fahd's activities and limited his powers, probably due to Fahd's very clear pro-Western views and hostile approach against Iran and Shia population of Saudi Arabia.
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18.
When King Khalid died on 13 June 1982, Fahd succeeded to the throne being the fifth king of Saudi Arabia.
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19.
King Fahd adopted the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in 1986, replacing "His Majesty", to signify an Islamic rather than secular authority.
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20.
King Fahd gave aid to foreign groups such as the Bosnian Muslims in the Yugoslav Wars, as well as the Nicaraguan Contras, providing "a million dollars per month from May to December 1984".
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21.
King Fahd was a strong supporter of the Palestinian cause and an opponent of the State of Israel.
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22.
Towards the beginning of King Fahd's reign, he was a staunch ally of the United States However, King Fahd distanced himself from the US throughout parts of his reign, declining to allow the US to use Saudi air bases to protect naval convoys after the attack on the USS Stark, and in 1988 agreed to buy between fifty and sixty nuclear-payload-capable CSS-2 intermediate-range ballistic missiles.
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24.
King Fahd actively contributed to the Taif accord in 1989 that ended conflict in Lebanon.
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25.
King Fahd developed a special bond with both Syrian President Hafez Assad and Egyptian President Hosni Mobarak during his reign.
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26.
King Fahd agreed to host American-led coalition troops in his Kingdom and later allowed American troops to be based there.
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27.
King Fahd's decision was objected to by his full brothers or the Sudairi Seven.
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28.
King Fahd first responded by ignoring their requests and when they persisted, reformists were harshly persecuted, imprisoned, and fired from their jobs.
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29.
King Fahd established a Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs directed by senior family members and technocrats in 1994.
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30.
The most significant change by the edict was that the King Fahd did acquire the right to appoint or dismiss his heir apparent based on suitability rather than seniority and that the grandsons of Abdulaziz became eligible for the throne.
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31.
King Fahd was a heavy smoker, overweight for much of his adult life, and in his sixties began to suffer from arthritis and severe diabetes.
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32.
King Fahd suffered a debilitating stroke on 29 November 1995 and became noticeably frail, and decided to delegate the running of the Kingdom to Crown Prince Abdullah on 2 January 1996.
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33.
In November 2003, according to government media, King Fahd was quoted as saying to "strike with an iron fist" at terrorists after deadly bombings in Saudi Arabia, although he could hardly utter a word because of his deteriorating health.
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34.
However, it was Crown Prince Abdullah who took official trips; when King Fahd traveled, it was for vacations, and he was sometimes absent from Saudi Arabia for months at a time.
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35.
King Fahd was known to enjoy luxurious living abroad and a lavish lifestyle.
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36.
King Fahd visited the ports of the French Riviera in his 147-metre yacht, the US$100 million Prince Abdulaziz.
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37.
King Fahd reportedly lost millions of dollars in casinos and started using illegal methods to regain the same amount.
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38.
King Fahd was admitted to the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh on 27 May 2005 for unspecified medical tests.
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39.
In 1984, King Fahd received the Faisal Prize for Service to Islam awarded by the King Faisal Foundation.
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