Bandar bin Faisal Al Saud (1943 – 2015) was a Saudi Arabian businessman and

Royal Saudi Air Force The Royal Saudi Air Force ( ar, ‎الْقُوَّاتُ الْجَوِّيَّةُ الْمَلَكِيَّةْ ٱلسُّعُوْدِيَّة, Al-Quwwat Al-Jawiyah Al-Malakiyah as-Su’udiyah) (RSAF) is the aviation branch of the Saudi Arabia ...

officer. A member of the

Saudi royal family The House of Saud ( ar, آل سُعُود, ʾĀl Suʿūd ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia. It is composed of the descendants of Muhammad bin Saud, founder of the Emirate of Diriyah, known as the First Saudi state (1727–1818), an ...

, he was one of the children of King Faisal and

Iffat Al Thunayan Iffat bint Mohammad Al Thunayan ( ar, عفت بنت محمد الثنيان ''ʿIffat bint Moḥammad Āl Ṯunayān'', tr, İffet bint Muhammed es Saniyan; 1916 – 17 February 2000) was a Turkish-born education activist and Saudi princess wh ...

Early life and education

Bandar bin Faisal was born in Taif in 1943 and raised there. He was one of nine children of King Faisal and Iffat Al Thunayan. His full siblings were

Princess Sara , also spelled as ''Princess Sarah'', is a Japanese anime series produced by Nippon Animation, based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1905 novel, ''A Little Princess''. Spanning 46 episodes, it originally premiered in 1985 across Japan on Fuji Te ...

Prince Mohammed George Nooks, Prince Mohamed, Prince Mohammed, or George Knooks (born c. 1958 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae singer who initially found fame as a deejay. Biography Nooks started his musical career in the youth choir at his church, and move ...

, Princess Latifa,

Prince Saud A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, Prince Abdul Rahman, Prince Turki, Princess Luluwah and Princess Haifa. Prince Bandar was a graduate of the

Hun School The Hun School of Princeton is a private, coeducational, secondary boarding school located in Princeton in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. The school serves students from sixth through twelfth grades. Currently, the head of school is ...

. He received a bachelor's degree from

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalists who wanted to recreate a "college of the New England type" in Southern California. In 1925, it became ...

and also, from

Whittier College Whittier College (Whittier Academy (1887–1901)) is a private liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of fall 2022, had approximately 1,300 (undergraduate and graduate) students. It was ...

in California. Next he graduated from

Royal Air Force College Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

in 1967 and RAF Staff College. He also received a graduate degree from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. One of his classmates in Cranwell was

Bandar bin Sultan Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (born 2 March 1949) is a retired Saudi Arabian diplomat, military officer, and government official who served as Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005. He is a member of the House of Saud. Fro ...

, husband of his sister, Haifa.

Career and activities

Following graduation Prince Bandar joined

royal air force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and began to work as a fighter pilot in the lightning squad. Then he became a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He worked at the intelligence unit of the force and also served as the head of the negotiation teams of the force. Later he was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. In 2007 he retired from the air force after serving forty years. Then he worked as a senior military advisor at the

Ministry of Defense and Aviation The Saudi Arabian Armed Forces (SAAF) ( ar, القُوَّات المُسَلَّحَة العَرَبِيَّة السُّعُودِيَّة, Al-Quwwat al-Musallahah al-Malakiyah as-Su’ūdiyah), also known as the Royal Saudi Armed Forces, ar ...

. While serving in the air force Prince Bandar also involved in business. In the mid-1980s he founded the Saudi Group, a joint venture with his wife Basma bint Majid and his nephew Prince Saud bin Abdullah. He was one of the early members of the Saudi National Commission for Wildlife. In 2007 Prince Bandar initiated a project to protect the indigenous

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

in Saudi Arabia.

Personal life and death

Prince Bandar married his cousin Basma bint Majid, a daughter of Prince

Majid bin Abdulaziz Majid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (19 October 1938 – 13 April 2003) was a Saudi royal and businessman who served as the governor of Mecca from 1980 to 1999. Early life and education Majid bin Abdulaziz was born in Riyadh on 19 October 1938 to King ...

. He had two children, Prince Sultan and Princess Hanah. Bandar bin Faisal died in November 2015. He was buried in Riyadh following the afternoon prayer at the

Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque (), also known as the Grand Mosque of Riyadh or simply the Grand Mosque (), is a mosque in the ad-Dirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located adjacent to Qasr al-Hukm while it overlooks the Deera Square. ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saud, Bandar Faisal Bandar Bandar 1943 births 2015 deaths Bandar Bandar Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell Hun School of Princeton alumni Lieutenant generals Bandar Pomona College alumni Bandar Bandar University of Washington alumni Whittier College alumni