Khalid bin Sultan

Prince Khalid was born on 24 September 1948. He is the oldest son of Prince Sultan and full brother of Fahd bin Sultan, Faisal bin Sultan and Turki bin Sultan. Their mother is Munira bint Abdulaziz bin Musaed bin Jiluwi who died in Paris on 24 August 2011. Moneera bint Abdulaziz was a sister of Alanoud, spouse of King Fahd. She was also cousin of King Khalid and Prince Muhammed.

Khalid bin Sultan is a graduate of King Saud University. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from January 1967, where he was a corporal in the cadet government, and graduated in 1968. He also studied at the US Army's Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. He graduated from the Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. He also holds a master's degree in political science which he received from Auburn University at Montgomery in 1980.

In the first years as a soldier, despite his choice to be selected for special forces personnel, Khalid bin Sultan was given a command of an artillery platoon in Tabuk province. Later, his position advanced as he was given a task for conducting contract and purchasing of Saudi Arabia's first guided missile with the People's Republic of China. For this prominent role, he was given an honorary title "Father of Saudi Arabia's Missile".

After years in the army, thinking that air defense should be given more important role in the national defense, he established the Saudi air defense force, and became its first commander. Shortly after occupation of Iraq to Kuwait in the first Persian Gulf War, he was chosen as the commander of the joint Arab forces, and shared an equal position and responsibility with general Norman Schwarzkopf of US Army. King Fahd promoted Prince Khalid to field marshal afterward. In 1991, he retired from the military to focus on business. In January 2001, he was brought back into the military as assistant defense minister for military affairs.

In early 2011, Prince Khalid announced that “more than 70 percent of military equipment can be produced locally" and the future creation of a government branch for domestic military growth. He was regarded as a likely candidate to replace his father as defense minister in 2011. However, he was appointed deputy defense minister in November 2011. His term lasted until 20 April 2013 when he was replaced by Fahd bin Abdullah, another member of the royal family. Traditionally, the decision follows exemption "based on his request," but the royal order issued exempting Khalid bin Sultan from office, did not include this phrase.

Wealth and Paradise Papers

Leaked US cables dated November 1996 cited the wealth of Prince Khalid as $2 billion.

In November 2017 an investigation conducted by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism cited his name in the list of politicians named in Paradise Papers allegations.

Khalid's first marriage was to his first cousin, Lulua, King Fahd's daughter. They divorced in 1978. They have three children. Their first child, Reema, died four months old. His other children from his first marriage are Faisal (born 1973) and Sara (born 1976). Later, he married the daughter of Turki bin Abdulaziz, another full uncle, Abeer bint Turki bin Abdulaziz. They have five children: Hala, Fahd (born 1985), Abdullah (born 1988), Salman (born 1993) and Mishail.

One of his daughters, Princess Hala, is the former wife of Turki bin Abdullah, who was then a pilot in the Royal Saudi Air Force, and they married on 13 January 2010.

His son, Faisal bin Khalid, is the governor of the Northern Borders Region. Another son, Abdullah bin Khalid, was the permanent representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations in Vienna. He was assigned to the post in September 2019, and his tenure lasted until January 2020 when he was made nonresident ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Slovakia and Slovenia.

Controversy

King Abdullah was not pleased by Khalid's leadership when Saudi troops could not quickly push back Houthis who had seized Saudi territory in late 2009. King Abdullah specifically expressed his concerns over the long duration of the conflict, large number of casualties, and Saudi incompetence. Therefore, this situation led to decrease in his potential succession of his father as defense minister. Joseph A. Kéchichian, a Middle East analyst, argued after Khalid's removal from office on 20 April 2013 that there are three potential reasons for his dismissal, one of which is about his activity in 2009 mentioned above. The others were related to his involvement in procurement of arms in 2010 and 2013.