Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Arabic: مقرن بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود, romanized: Muqrin ibn 'Abd al 'Azīz Āl Su'ūd; born 15 September 1945)[1] is a Saudi Arabian politician, businessman, and former military aviator who was briefly Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from January to April 2015, during the first three months of his half-brother King Salman's reign.

[4] On 23 January 2015, upon King Abdullah's death and the accession of Salman, Muqrin became crown prince[5] and first deputy prime minister.

[13] On 18 March 1980, King Khalid appointed Prince Muqrin as governor of Hail replacing Nasser Al Sheikh in the post,[15] and his tenure lasted until 1999.

[16] During his tenure Prince Muqrin reformed the local government of Hail with the assistance from the Institute of Public Administration and improved the living conditions of the tribes in the region.

[17] On 24 November 1999, Prince Muqrin was appointed governor of Madinah Province as a successor to Abdul Majeed bin Abdulaziz.

[28] On the other hand, Prince Muqrin was named advisor at the rank of minister and a special envoy to King Abdullah the same day.

[35][36] On the other hand, Muqrin bin Abdulaziz and then foreign minister Prince Saud Al Faisal were reported to be in favor of pushing the sanctions against Iran instead of military action as King Abdullah insisted.

[42][43][44] However, his maternal line was seen as a factor curtailing Muqrin's chance of becoming king;[24] his mother was a Yemeni maidservant,[45] and he did not belong to the dominant Sudairi faction of the royal house.

[47] Prince Muqrin was appointed as second deputy prime minister by King Abdullah on 1 February 2013,[48] although he was not seen as a potential contender for the post by analysts.

In order to make his place in the line of succession permanent and preclude any challenges by any of the dispossessed royals, King Abdullah polled each member of the Allegiance Council individually before announcing Muqrin's new title.

[6] This marked a generational shift: the first time that a grandson (rather than a son) of dynastic founder Ibn Saud had been selected as heir apparent.

[53] After his firing as crown prince, Muqrin was reportedly granted lavish gifts, including US$800 million, and in 2016, the Solandge, a 280-foot yacht.

[57][58] Muqrin's treatment upon his ouster as crown prince was far different than that later accorded to MBN, who—after being ousted in a palace coup in 2017 led by MBS—was placed under house arrest, and had much of his wealth seized.

[63] Muqrin bin Abdulaziz is said to enjoy astronomy, literature and Arabic poetry and has a large library containing thousands of books.

[16] Prince Muqrin purchased four real estate properties about 7,700 square meters in Dlebta, Lebanon, following the approval of the cabinet in 2012 and the publishing of the listed sale in the official gazette.

[64] Prince Muqrin is the recipient of several decorations, including King Abdulaziz Sash and the Order of Merit from the Egyptian Military Air Force.