Abdullah Tariki
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Abdullah Tariki (19 March 1919–7 September 1997) (Arabic: عبدالله الطريقي), also known as Red Sheikh, was a Saudi politician and government official. He was the first Saudi oil minister appointed by
King Saud Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سعود بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Suʿūd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia from 9 November 1953 ...
, and co-founder of
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
(
OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquart ...
) along with Venezuelan minister
Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish language, Spanish and Manx language, Manx versions of ''John (given name), John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronoun ...
.


Early life and education

Tariki was born on 19 March 1919 in Al
Zulfi Az Zulfi (also Zulfi, Zulfy City or Al Zulfi or Az Zilfi) is a city in Riyadh Province in central Saudi Arabia, about 260 kilometres northwest of Riyadh. It is connected by Roads 418 and 535 which both link with the main Highway 65 which connect ...
,
Najd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...
. His father was a Najdi townsman and was a camel owner who organized caravans between Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
. His mother was a
bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
. One of Tariki's childhood friends was
Mustafa Wahba Mustafa Wahba was a Saudi Arabian economist who served as deputy finance minister from 1960 to 1962. In addition, he was the first and long-term secretary general of the Communist Party in Saudi Arabia between 1975 and 1991. Biography Mustafa Wa ...
, son of
Hafiz Wahba Hafiz Wahba (15 July 1889 – 1967) was an Egyptian diplomat who was then naturalised in Saudi Arabia. Fuad Hamza and he were the first ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, the former in France and the latter in the United Kingdom. In addition, they wer ...
and the founding and long-term secretary general of the
Communist Party in Saudi Arabia The Communist Party in Saudi Arabia ( ar, الحزب الشيوعي في السعودية, ''al-Hizb al-Shuyu'i fi al-Sa'udiyah'') was a political party in Saudi Arabia. It existed officially between 1975 and 1991. History The Communist Party in S ...
. Tariki received his early education in Kuwait and in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
. He held a bachelor's degree in geology and chemistry which he obtained from
Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...
in 1944. He graduated from the
University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
in 1947, earning a master's degree in petroleum engineering and geology. He was also trained at the
Texas Oil Company Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an independent company until ...
after graduation.


Career and activities

After his graduation Tariki was employed as a
geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althou ...
for the Texas Oil Company in Texas and California. He returned to Saudi Arabia in 1948 and began to work at the ministry of finance office in
Dammam Dammam ( ar, الدمّام ') is the fifth-most populous city in Saudi Arabia after Riyadh, Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. It is the capital of the Eastern Province. With a total population of 1,252,523 as of 2020. The judicial and administrative ...
from May 1953 to December 1954. He served as an interpreter at the initial phase of his career at the ministry. In December 1954, Tariki was appointed director-general of petroleum and mineral affairs in the ministry of finance and national economy. Tariki's work at the directorate involved processing the petroleum production statistics provided by the
Arabian American Oil Company Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...
(Aramco), and analysis summaries were then presented to 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), and ...
. In May 1959 he was named one of two representatives of the Saudi government as directors of the Aramco. The other one was
Hafiz Wahba Hafiz Wahba (15 July 1889 – 1967) was an Egyptian diplomat who was then naturalised in Saudi Arabia. Fuad Hamza and he were the first ambassadors of Saudi Arabia, the former in France and the latter in the United Kingdom. In addition, they wer ...
. They were the first Saudi officials at the company. Tariki was one of the earliest critics of Aramco, arguing that the US companies should consult more with Saudi officials in exploring, pumping and selling of oil. He was a
Nasserite Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic and ...
, as well as an
Arab nationalist Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...
. He called for a constitutional monarchy in Saudi Arabia and the nationalization of Arab oil. To achieve this goal, he and Venezuela's mines minister Juan Pablo Perez Alfonso strongly supported the foundation of the OPEC and eventually became ita founding members in September 1960.Youssef M. Ibrahim (16 September 1997)
"Sheik Abdullah al Tariki, 80, First Saudi Arabian Oil Minister,"
''New York Times.''
The ministry of petroleum and mineral resources was created in December 1960, and Tariki was appointed the first oil minister. His confidants in the government included King Saud's advisor
Abdulaziz Al Muammar Abdulaziz Al Muammar (1919–1984) was a Saudi Arabian technocrat who served as one of King Saud's advisors and as an ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Switzerland. Besides he is one of the leading figures of the first generation Saudi Arabian intel ...
and Prince Mutaib bin Abdulaziz. Tariki joined Prince
Talal bin Abdulaziz Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Ṭalāl bin ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Saʿūd''; 15 August 1931 – 22 December 2018), formerly also called The Red Prince, was a Saudi Arabian politician, dissident, b ...
's camp,
Free Princes Movement The Free Princes Movement ( ar, حركة الأمراء الأحرار; al-umara’ al-ahrar) was a Saudi liberal political movement that existed from 1958 to 1964. Its members were known as the Young Najd (Najd al-Fattah in Arabic), Free Princes ...
, in 1961, and they accused Crown Prince Faisal, later King Faisal, of corruption. Tariki became a powerful ally of the movement. He claimed on evidence that
Kamal Adham Kamal Adham ( ar, كمال ابراهيم ادهم; 1929 – 29 October 1999) was a Saudi businessman and the director general of Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah from 1965 to 1979. He served as a royal counsellor to both King Faisal and King Khalid. ...
, who was the brother-in-law of Prince Faisal, got 2% of the profits of the Arabian Oil Company that had been cofounded by Saudi Arabia and
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
.


Dismissal

Tariki was removed from office by Prince Faisal when the latter was functioning as the acting head of the state as a result of the clash between him and King Saudin March 1962. More specifically, King Saud dismissed him and four other members of the cabinet following his announcement of the constitution which had been developed by Free Princes movement members with the help of Egyptian lawyers. The
Sudairi Seven The Sudairi Seven ( ar, السديريون السبعة, ''As Sudayriyyūn as Sabʿah''), also spelled ''Sudairy'' or ''Sudayri'', is the commonly used name for a powerful alliance of seven full brothers within the Saudi royal family. They are al ...
led by Prince Fahd were very influential in this campaign against Tariki and others. According to political scientist Jeff Colgan, "the underlying problem was his nationalist ideology, though other events triggered his dismissal. His nationalist vision for the oil sector had become embarrassing to the Saudis who sought to cement their relationship with the United States." The other cabinet ministers who were asked to resign from the office included Hasan Nasif, Abdallah Al Dabbagh, Ibrahim Al Suwayil and Nasir Al Manqur. Tariki was succeeded by
Ahmed Zaki Yamani Ahmed Zaki Yamani ( ar, أحمد زكي يماني; 30 June 1930 – 23 February 2021) was a Saudi Arabian politician who served as Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources from 1962 to 1986, and a minister in the Organization of the Petrole ...
as oil minister, and Yamani sacked Tariki also from Aramco's board.


Later years

Following his dismissal, Tariki went to exile and settled in
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
. In January 1963, he and Lebanese oil expert Nicholas Sarkis founded an oil consulting firm in Beirut. Tariki also launched a journal there, namely ''Arab Oil and Gas'', and contributed to ''
Al Anwar ''Al Anwar'' ( ar, الانوار, lit=The Lights) was an Arabic daily newspaper published in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded in 1959 and was one of the leading dailies in Lebanon. In October 2018, the publisher Dar Assayad announced ceasing of ...
'', a Lebanese daily. One of his articles in ''Al Anwar'' was an open letter to the
Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...
dated 19 May 1969. Tariki could visit Saudi Arabia only after the death of King Faisal in 1975. Later Tariki settled in Cairo.


Personal life and death

When Tariki was attending the University of Texas he married an American woman. They later divorced in Saudi Arabia. Tariki died of a heart attack on 7 September 1997 in Cairo at age 78. His body was taken to Saudi Arabia for burial.


Honors

*
Order of Francisco de Miranda The Order of Francisco de Miranda (''Orden Francisco de Miranda'') is conferred by the Republic of Venezuela in memory of Francisco de Miranda (1754–1816). This national honor and decoration was created to recognize Venezuelan citizens and forei ...
, 1960, Venezuela.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tariki, Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...
Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...
1919 births 1997 deaths Cairo University alumni Cockrell School of Engineering alumni Magazine founders OPEC people
Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...
Saudi Arabian expatriates in Egypt Saudi Arabian expatriates in Lebanon