Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: خالد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود; 13 February 1913 – 13 June 1982) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 25 March 1975 until his death in 1982.

[17] In 1939, he participated in the St. James Conference on Palestine in London as the minister of interior as well as an assistant to Prince Faisal, head of the Saudi delegation.

[31][32] King Faisal announced Khalid's appointment on the same day through a broadcast over Mecca Radio:[33]Since the position of Crown Prince is a fundamental factor for the continuation and firmness of the reign, now the country enjoys stability, advancement and prosperity.

[12][34] Although Joseph A. Kéchichian argues that Crown Prince Khalid was not active in daily issues, but acted as a representative during King Faisal's absences in meetings or ceremonies,[25] he governed all organisational and executive powers of the Council of Ministers.

[35] In 1970 Crown Prince Khalid led Saudi delegations to Jordan to meet the needs of Palestinians who were seriously affected from Israel's attacks.

[36] According to the declassified US diplomatic documents of 1971, he enjoyed the support of the tribal chiefs, religious authorities and of Prince Abdullah, head of the Saudi National Guard, during this period.

[28][46] King Khalid also closely checked the activities of Crown Prince Fahd due to the latter's clear support for the pro-Western policies and hostile tendency against Iran and Shia population of Saudi Arabia.

[57] Immediately following his ascension to the throne King Khalid issued a general amnesty which allowed the release of political prisoners who had been members of the left wing movements and the return of those who had been in exile to Saudi Arabia.

[83] King Khalid implemented a significant policy towards bedouins through a decree dated 15 March 1981 which required them to settle in a fixed place.

[84] In November 1979, Khalid's reign saw two major local incidents which have had significant effects on the politics of Saudi Arabia: the Grand Mosque seizure and the Qatif Uprising.

[93] Due to King Khalid's policy change towards the Shiite population in the region, they positively modified their approach towards the Saudi government and abandoned their oppositional ideas and actions.

[97] In April 1975, King Khalid's first diplomatic coup was the conclusion of a demarcation agreement concerning the Al Buraymi Oasis, where the frontiers of Abu Dhabi, Oman and Saudi Arabia meet.

[101] King Khalid visited Damascus in December 1975 and met with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad to discuss the ways to support Muslims in Lebanon, where a civil war began in April 1975.

[104] It was a secret organization with the participation of Egypt, France, Iran, Morocco and Saudi Arabia to eliminate the potential influence of communism in the region.

[107] Lebanese Foreign Minister Fuad Butrus was received by King Khalid in Riyadh on 5 July 1977 to discuss the current situation in Lebanon.

[108] In early January 1978 the US President Jimmy Carter paid an official visit to Riyadh and met King Khalid to discuss the Middle East peace efforts.

[109] Immediately after this meeting Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi visited King Khalid on 11 January 1978 to discuss some topics related to the security of the region.

[19] The same year King Khalid visited France to finalize the procurement of $24 billion military equipment, namely tanks, helicopters, and a complete radar network which was capable of covering the entire Red Sea.

[111] On 24 December 1979 Pakistan President Zia ul Haq visited Riyadh and met King Khalid in relation to the Grand Mosque crisis which had been solved at the beginning of the month.

[116][117] Egyptian actress Suzan Abu Talib or Sawsan Badr and other actors who had roles in the documentary were banned from entering Saudi Arabia.

[117] King Khalid in the capacity of the chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation assisted Pakistani authorities to end the hijacking of the Pakistan International Airlines Flight 326 on 2 March 1981 first to Kabul and to Damascus on the request of President Zia ul Haq.

[105] Upon meeting then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in Saudi Arabia in April 1981,[118] King Khalid is reputed to have said he would be happy to discuss falcons with her, but for all matters of administration she should talk to Crown Prince Fahd.

[120] King Khalid asked the US President Jimmy Carter to sell advanced fighter planes to Saudi Arabia to assist in countering communist aggression in the area.

[97] Jimmy Carter in his memoirs stated that both King Khalid and then Crown Prince Fahd assured him of "their unequivocal support for Sadat", but they would realize no concrete move in this direction, at least not publicly.

[122] Look after the weak, for the strong can look after themselves.In June 1974 when he was Crown Prince Khalid argued that France taught the Syrians to be stubborn, and the British instilled the idea for the Arabs to differ with each other.

[50] An American journalist from Christian Science Monitor, John K. Cooley, following his observation of King Khalid at majlis stated that he carefully listened to his subjects showing his sense of humor and amused smile.

[43] During the first year of his rule King Khalid was said by his close observers to be an open and good man without any pretense representing the best example of Arab gentlemanly culture.

[151] Since King Khalid suffered from heart ailment for a long period of time, Crown Prince Fahd was in charge of ruling the country.

[152][158] Leaders of Qatar, Kuwait, Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain,[152] as well as President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak, participated in the funeral.

[165] In January 1981 King Khalid was awarded by the United Nations (UN) a gold medal which is the UN's highest decoration for the statesmen who significantly contributed to peace and cooperation worldwide.