Fawwaz bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: فواز بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, Fawwāz bin ʿAbdulʿazīz Āl Saʿūd; 1934 – 19 July 2008) was a senior member of the House of Saud. In 2006, Fawwaz became one of the members of the Allegiance Commission. However, he died on 19 July 2008, some six months after the establishment of the council.
Prince Fawwaz was governor of Riyadh from 1960 to 1961.[7] On 18 June 1969, he was appointed deputy governor of Makkah Province.[5] Then, he served as governor of the province from 1971 to 1980.[1][8] He was the governor when the Grand Mosque Seizure occurred.[9][10] After this event, he was removed from office over corruption allegations by the group which seized the mosque.[10][11][12] According to another report, Fawwaz resigned from office following the incident, citing health problems.[13]
Free Princes Movement
Prince Fawwaz, together with Prince Talal and Prince Badr, was a member of the Free Princes Movement from 1962 to February 1964.[4][5] He defected to the United Arab Republic with his half-brothers Badr and Abdul Muhsin and their cousin Fahd bin Saad, but they returned to Saudi Arabia upon their rehabilitation by Crown Prince Faisal on 22 January 1964.[6][14] Upon their return they published a statement acknowledging their mistake in criticizing the Saudi government.[14]
Personal life
Prince Fawwaz was married to Fawzia bint Hussain Izzat.[5][15] He had only an adopted son who could not replace him in the Allegiance Council. He had a wide range of business activities related to property development in the kingdom. His wife and he also had a company based in Jeddah.[15]
Fawwaz bin Abdulaziz was one of the royal family members who were harshly criticised by Juhayman Al Otaybi and Abdullah Al Qahtani, leaders of the group that seized the Grand Mosque of Mecca in 1979, for his unabashed drinking, gambling, and corruption.[11][12]
Prince Fawwaz was the recipient of several decorations, including the Order of Cedar of Lebanon and various orders of merit from different countries.[21]
