JEDDAH // Saudi Arabia’s prince Saud Al Faisal, formerly the world’s longest-serving foreign minister who oversaw four decades of turbulent diplomacy for the kingdom, was buried on Saturday.
His funeral was held after evening prayers in Mecca in the presence of regional dignitaries led by the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Jaber Al Sabah. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region, led the UAE delegation.
Prince Saud’s body was flown home from the United States on Saturday afternoon.
A statement from the royal court released on Thursday said that prince Saud, who was born in 1940, had died in the US, without giving the cause of death.
The prince was one of the highest profile members of the kingdom’s ruling elite before stepping down in April for health reasons.
He oversaw Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a major diplomatic player, facing successive regional crises and maintaining a focus on relations with the West.
* Agence France-Presse