page_title: Faisal of Saudi Arabia
section_title: Abolition of slavery
hierarchical_section_title: Faisal of Saudi Arabia / King of Saudi Arabia / Abolition of slavery
caption_attribution_description: English: Egypt´s President Nasser with Yasser Arafat and King Faisal in the last Arab summit right before his death
context_page_description: Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was King of Saudi Arabia from 2 November 1964 to 25 March 1975.
  Faisal was the third son of King Abdulaziz. His mother, Tarfa, was a member of the Al ash-Sheikh family which has produced many prominent Saudi religious leaders. Faisal emerged as an influential royal politician under his father and brother King Saud, serving as foreign minister of the Saudi domains for all but two years from 1930 until his death. He was crown prince after Saud's accession in 1953, and in that position he outlawed slavery in Saudi Arabia. He persuaded King Saud to abdicate in his favour in 1964 with the help of other members of the royal family and his relative, Grand Mufti Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh.
  Faisal implemented a policy of modernization and reform. His main foreign policy themes were pan-Islamism, anti-communism, and pro-Palestinianism. He attempted to limit the power of Islamic religious officials. Protesting against support that Israel received from the West, he led the oil embargo which caused the 1973 oil crisis.
context_section_description: Slavery did not vanish in Saudi Arabia until King Faisal issued a decree for its total abolition in 1962. BBC presenter Peter Hobday stated that about 1,682 slaves were freed at that time, at a cost to the government of $2,000 each. The political analyst Bruce Riedel argued that the US began to raise the issue of slavery after the meeting between King Abdulaziz and US president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945 and that John F. Kennedy finally persuaded the House of Saud to abolish slavery in 1962.
caption: Egypt's President Nasser with Yasser Arafat and King Faisal at an Arab summit, September 1970
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