Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, also spelled Naif, () (born 1933) is the Second Deputy Prime Minister and long time Minister of Interior of Saudi Arabia. He is a half-brother of King Abdullah. He is one of the six surviving members of the Sudairi Seven. He is second in line of succession to the Saudi throne.

Early Life and Education

Nayef was born in Taif in 1933. He received his education at "The Princes School" and at the hands of senior ulema (religious leaders). In addition, he has read widely in in politics, diplomacy, and security.

In 1953, he became Governor of Riyadh. From 1954 to 1970, he served as Deputy Minister of the Interior. In 1970, King Faisal promoted him to Minister of State for Internal Affairs.

Minister of Interior

Timeline

In March 1975, King Faisal's assassination made then-Minister of Interior Prince Fahd Crown Prince. Nayef replaced Fahd as Minister of Interior.

In December 1994, he ordered hundreds of terrorism-related arrests with the support of Prince Turki, head of Saudi intelligence services.

In November 2001, he issued all women in Saudi Arabia identity cards. Women were previously registered under their husband's or father's name.

In April 2001, he, not Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal, went to Iran as Saudi envoys in an unprecedented move.

After the September 11 attacks attacks, he received U.S. criticism for not undertaking sufficient action against...
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