<P> Abdullah, like Fahd, was one of the many sons of Ibn Saud, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia . Abdullah held important political posts throughout most of his adult life . In 1961 he became mayor of Mecca, his first public office . The following year, he was appointed commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, a post he was still holding when he became king . He also served as deputy defense minister and was named crown prince when Fahd took the throne in 1982 . After King Fahd suffered a serious stroke in 1995, Abdullah became the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia until ascending the throne a decade later . </P> <P> During his reign he maintained close relations with United States and United Kingdom and bought billions of dollars worth of defense equipment from both states . He also gave women the right to vote for municipal councils and to compete in the Olympics . Furthermore, Abdullah maintained the status quo when there were waves of protest in the kingdom during the Arab Spring . In November 2013, a BBC report claimed that, due to the close relations it had with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia could obtain nuclear weapons at will from that country . The King also had a longstanding relationship with Pakistan, and brokered a compromise between ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and General Pervez Musharraf, whom he had requested to be exiled to Saudi Arabia for a 10 - year exile, following his ouster in the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état . </P> <P> The King outlived two of his crown princes . Conservative Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul - Aziz Al Saud was named heir to the throne on the death of Sultan bin Abdulaziz in October 2011, but Nayef himself died in June 2012 . Abdullah then named 76 - year - old defense minister, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as crown prince . According to various reports, Abdullah married up to 30 times and had more than 35 children . The king had a personal fortune estimated at US $18 billion, making him the third wealthiest head of state in the world . He died on 23 January 2015, at the age of 90, three weeks after being hospitalized for pneumonia, and was succeeded as king by his half - brother Salman of Saudi Arabia . </P> <P> Abdullah is said to have been born on 1 August 1924 in Riyadh . However, some sources state that this date is incorrect, and that he was approximately eight years older . He was the tenth son of King Abdulaziz . His mother, Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim, was a member of the Al Rashid dynasty, longtime rivals of the Al Saud dynasty . She was descended from the powerful Shammar tribe--and was the daughter of former tribe chief, Asi Shuraim . She died when Abdullah was six years old . He had younger full - sisters . </P>

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