Search results

King Fahd’s youngest son Prince Abdelaziz has put his Grade II-listed London house up for sale for £100m ($153m). Prospective buyers are required to sign a confidentiality agreement before they can view the property. Prince Abdelaziz owns one of the 29 houses on Kensington Palace Gardens; they rarely get put up for sale.

Prime minister and interior minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani visited Kuwait in late August, where he held meetings with Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, premier Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and deputy premier Sheikh Mohammed Al-Khalid Al-Sabah. “Fraternal relations between the two brotherly countries” were discussed, according to Qatar News Agency. The two countries enjoy decent relations and Doha has in the past used Kuwait’s good offices to help ease tensions with other regional countries.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) was shortlisted in the annual US news weekly Time’s Person of the Year award on 4 December. MBS went on to win the online reader poll, with 24% of the votes cast, beating such luminaries as Hillary Clinton, Pope Francis and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani was in Vienna in early December to present awards to winners of the Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani Anti-Corruption Excellence Award at the International Anti-Corruption day held under the auspices of the United Nations. While in Vienna the emir held talks with the outgoing UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in a meeting also attended by the director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime Yury Fedotov.

One of the most surprising elements to the string of arrests made on 4 November, following the announcement of a new Supreme Committee to tackle corruption, was the seniority of some of the princes detained. They include the following:Miteb Bin Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz – the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) minister was sacked by King Salman before being arrested. He was replaced as SANG head by Prince Khalid Bin Abdelaziz Bin Mohammed Al-Muqren.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan hosted President Abdel Fattah El Sisi on 25 September, during a visit by the Egyptian leader to the UAE that was notable for its exceptionally warm welcome. According to a statement published by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the leaders discussed “combatting terrorism and eliminating the financing of extremist groups” – no doubt Qatar was high on their agenda. The two sides also agreed to concentrate efforts on “eliminating interference in the internal affairs of various Arab countries”.

Deputy minister for foreign affairs Abdelaziz Bin Abdullah in February attended a White House summit on countering violent extremism. The three-day summit, from 17 February, included ministers from more than 60 countries, and leaders including US President Barack Obama, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, French interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Jordanian foreign minister Nasser Judeh. Foreign minister Saud Al-Faisal is still not back at work following back surgery in January. On 23 February, foreign ministry undersecretary for multilateral relations Prince Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Kabeer attended a ministerial conference on regional security in Cairo on his behalf.

Federal Vice President and prime minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) launched the UAE’s first astronaut programme on 6 December. The scheme has been set up to find and train four Emirati astronauts who can travel to the International Space Station within five years; it would be the UAE’s first space mission. The programme is being run by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre.

Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa was in Saudi Arabia on 6 September for talks with King Abdullah and other senior officials, including Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdelaziz. Shortly afterwards, plans were announced for a second bridge between the neighbours, to be called the King Hamad Causeway; the King Fahd Causeway opened in November 1986. A few days later, Eastern Province governor Prince Saud Bin Nayef Bin Abdelaziz received the King Fahd Causeway director-general, Badr Bin Abdullah Al-Atishan.

Emir Sheikh Hamad’s fourth son Sheikh Tamim was appointed heir apparent in an August 2003 move, when he replaced his older full brother Sheikh Jassim (GSN 716/6). The changeover was widely regarded as sensible – the laid-back Jassim, who was seen as having little political ambition, had been a stopgap until Tamim had finished his education and gained more experience in high-level politics.

Prince Badr Bin Abdelaziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah, died in late March. He was in his early 80s. He was communications minister in the early 1960s and Saudi Arabian National Guard deputy commander from 1968 to November 2010, when he reportedly retired for health reasons.

Hamad Bin Jassim: New York and Cyprus, Fahd Bin Jassim: Qatar safe from turmoil

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum attended the launch of a ‘hyperloop’ joint venture on 20 April. Known as DP World Cargospeed, the project is a collaboration between ports operator DP World and Virgin Hyperloop One, which aims to develop a fast transport link for freight and, potentially, passengers.

General Intelligence Directorate chief Prince Bandar Bin Sultan held a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin near Moscow, the Kremlin said on 3 December. A previous meeting between the two men, in late July, has been the source of much speculation. The contents of that meeting remain elusive, and there has been considerable, unsubstantiated speculation about whether Bandar offered the Russians oil and investment opportunities in return for concessions on Iran and Syria (GSN 957/7). According to news agencies, the latest meeting discussed the situation in the Middle East and North Africa.

Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad was in Riyadh on 1 May for a meeting with the new top team. Greeted at Riyadh Airbase by Riyadh governor Prince Faisal Bin Bandar, Salman went on to the Al-Yamamah Palace where he met Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. He was then seen off at the airport by minister of state Musaid Bin Mohammed Al-Aiban – the absence of an Al-Saud to see him and his delegation off is surprising, given that he is the heir to the throne of Bahrain.