Mansour bin Muqrin Al Saud (1974 – 5 November 2017) (Arabic: منصور بن مقرن بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) was a Saudi businessman, member of the House of Saud, and advisor at the Court of the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.[1] In April 2015, he was appointed advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques with the rank of minister. He was the son of Prince Muqrin, former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. He was killed in mysterious circumstances when his helicopter crashed near the country's border with Yemen on 5 November 2017, hours after a major purge of the kingdom's political and business leadership.[2]
| Mansour bin Muqrin Al Saud | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advisor at Crown Prince Court | |||||
| In office | 22 April 2015 – 5 November 2017 | ||||
| Monarch | King Salman | ||||
| Deputy Governor of Asir | |||||
| In office | 2013 – 5 November 2017 | ||||
| Monarch | |||||
| Born | 1974 | ||||
| Died | 5 November 2017 (aged 42–43) | ||||
| |||||
| House | Al Saud | ||||
| Father | Muqrin bin Abdulaziz | ||||
| Mother | Abtah bint Hamoud Al Rashid | ||||
Family
editMansour was the second youngest son of Prince Muqrin[3] and Abta bint Hamoud Al Rashid,[4] and a full brother of Turki bin Muqrin and Fahd bin Muqrin.[5] In 2013, Mansour married a daughter of his first cousin Prince Saud bin Fahd Al Saud.[6]
Career
editIn 2013 Mansour bin Muqrin was named deputy governor of 'Asir Region which he held until his death in 2017.[3] In January 2015, King Salman accepted Crown Prince Muqrin's recommendation that Mansour be made advisor at the Court of the Crown Prince.[7] He was a partner in Ethan Allen's Saudi franchise.[8] Mansour was vice chairman of Al Bayan Foundation, which builds colleges of higher education in Saudi Arabia.[9][10]
Death
editMansour bin Muqrin died in a helicopter crash near Abha, near the border with Yemen, along with seven other officials while returning from an inspection tour, according to the Interior Ministry. It did not give a cause for the crash.[11][12][13] His brother Faisal in a statement to Saudi newspaper Okaz denied reports that Mansour's death was suspicious.[14] In October 2018, Middle East Eye claimed that Mansour was killed by the Tiger Squad,[15] and that he had fled the 2017 Saudi Arabian purge which began on 4 November 2017.[16]
References
edit- ^ "Saudi King orders Cabinet reshuffle, amendments for state bodies". Kuwait News Agency. 1 January 2015.
- ^ "Helicopter crash kills Saudi prince". BBC News. 6 November 2017.
- ^ a b Karen Elliott House. "Saudi Arabia in Transition: From Defense to Offense, But How to Score?" (PDF). Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. pp. 5, 7. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ Raphaeli Nimrod (September 2003). "Saudi Arabia: A brief guide to its politics and problems". Middle East Review of International Affairs. 7 (3).
- ^ Family Directory Datarabia
- ^ "Wedding of Prince Mansour bin Muqrin". Al Riyadh. 13 March 2013.
- ^ "A new King, a new government of technocrats". The Peninsula. 31 January 2015. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "American Born, Globally Bound: Ethan Allen Opens in Saudi Arabia and Romania". Businesswire. 17 December 2013.
- ^ "Agreement signed for Al-Bayan hotel management college". Arab News. 23 January 2014.
- ^ "Madinah Governor Receives Deputy Chairman of Al-Bayan Foundation for Education". Gulf Research Center. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015.
- ^ "Saudi Prince Mansour bin Muqrin dies in helicopter crash". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 5 November 2017.
- ^ "Saudi prince killed in helicopter crash near Yemen border". BBC. 5 November 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
- ^ "Saudi prince Mansour died in helicopter crash near Yemen border". Middle East Eye. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ Habib Toumi (10 November 2017). "Saudi prince Mansour's helicopter crash was accidental: brother". Gulf News. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
- ^ Mustafa Abu Sneineh (22 October 2018). "The Saudi death squad MBS uses to silence dissent". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
- ^ David D. Kirkpatrick (4 November 2017). "Saudi Arabia Arrests 11 Princes, Including Billionaire Alwaleed bin Talal". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2017.