{{infobox military unit| unit name	Arabian Peninsular Reconnaissance Flight RAF
role	Tactical Reconnaissance
equipment	Gloster Meteor FR.9
garrison	RAF Khormaksar
dates	1 August 1959 - 1 October 1959 October 1959 - April 1960
battle honours	}}

Aden Protectorate Reconnaissance Flight

From 1956 Gloster Meteor FR Mk.9 aircraft from No. 208 Squadron RAF were deployed to Aden for operations against rebel tribesmen and Yemeni insurgents. This Squadron was withdrawn at the time of the Suez Crisis. 'C' Flight 208 Squadron returned in 1958 and was re-designated as the Aden Protectorate Reconnaissance Flight, formed on 1 August 1959, flying Meteor FR.9's. This flight was dis-banded and re-named Arabian Peninsular Reconnaissance Flight on 1 October 1959.

Arabian Peninsular Reconnaissance Flight

The Arabian Peninsular Reconnaissance Flight was formed at RAF Khormaksar when the Aden Protectorate Reconnaissance Flight was dis-banded and re-named on 1 October 1959. The flight continued to fly the Meteor FR.9's on tactical reconnaissance missions until it was dis-banded in April 1960, handing the tactical recce mission over to No. 8 Squadron RAF, flying Hawker Hunter FR.10's. 300px|Side view of Meteor F.8 variant noses

See also

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No._8_Squadron_RAF

Lake, Alan. "Flying Units od the RAF".Airlife Publishing. Shrewsbury. 1999. ISBN 1-84037-086-6

Aden Protectorate Reconnaissance Flight Arabian Peninsular Reconnaissance Flight Category:Military units and formations established in 1959

:''For the Charles Gounod opera, see ''La reine de Saba''.

The Queen of Shebah (, ; , ; , '''') was a monarch of the ancient kingdom of Sheba and is referred to in Habeshan history, the Bible, the Qur'an, and Josephus. She is widely assumed to have been a queen regnant, although there is no historical proof of this; in fact, she may have been a queen consort. The location of her kingdom is believed to have been in Ethiopia or Yemen.

Diverse references

Known to the Ethiopian people as Makeda or Maqueda ( ), this queen has been called a variety of names by different peoples in different times. To King Solomon of Israel she was the Queen of Sheba. In Islamic tradition she was called Balqis or Balkis by the Arabians, who say she came from the city of Sheba, also called Mareb, in Yemen or Arabia Felix. The Roman historian Josephus calls her Nicaule. She is thought to have been born on January 5, sometime in the 10th century BC.

In the Hebrew Bible, a tradition of the history of nations is preserved in Genesis 10. In Genesis 10:7 there is a reference to Sheba, the son of Raamah, the son of Cush, the son of Ham, son of Noah. In Genesis 10:26-29 there is a reference to another person named Sheba, listed along with Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab as the descendants of Joktan, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Arphaxad, the descendant of Shem, another son of Noah.

Aharoni, Avi-Yonah, Rainey, and Safrai placed the Semitic Sheba in Southern Arabia in geographic proximity to the location of the tribes descended from their ancestor, Joktan. In addition to Sheba, Hazarmaveth and Ophir were identified. Semitic Havilah was located in Eastern Africa, modern day Ethiopia. Semitic Havilah (Beresh't 10:29) is to be distinguished from Cushite Havilah (Beresh't 10:7), the descendant of Cush, descendant of Ham; both locations for Havilah are thought by these scholars to have been located in present day Ethiopia.

Narratives concerning the Queen of Sheba

Hebrew biblical accounts

According to the Hebrew Bible, the unnamed queen of the land of Sheba heard of the great wisdom of King Solomon of Israel and journeyed there with gifts of spices, gold, precious stones, and beautiful wood and to test him with questions, as recorded in First Kings (largely copied in 2 Chronicles ).

It is related further that the queen was awed by Solomon's great wisdom and wealth, and pronounced a blessing on Solomon's God. Solomon reciprocated with gifts and "everything she desired." Solomon offered to give her everything his kingdom had to offer except the "royal bounty." Therefore, according to the Bible, "she turned and went to her country, she and her servants." The queen apparently was quite rich, however, as she brought four and a half tons of gold with her to give to Solomon (1 Kings ).

In the biblical passages which refer explicitly to the Queen of Sheba there is no hint of love or sexual attraction between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The two are depicted merely as fellow monarchs engaged in the affairs of state.

The biblical text, Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), contains some references, which at various times, have been interpreted as referring to love between Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The young woman of the Song of Songs, however, continues to deny the romantic advances of her suitor, whom many commentators identify as King Solomon. In any case, there is little to identify this speaker in the text with the rich and powerful foreign queen depicted in the Book of Kings. The woman of the text of the song clearly does regard "The Daughters of Jerusalem" as her peer group.

Account in the New Testament

The Queen of Sheba is believed to be the Queen of the South referenced in Matthew 12:42 and Luke 11:31 in the New Testament, where Jesus indicates that she and the Ninevites will judge the generation of Jesus' contemporaries who rejected him. (Some argument believed that The Queen of Sheba was not the Queen of the South, because she did not come from the Ends of the Earth.)

Qur'anic and other Arabic accounts

The Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam, mentions the kingdom of the Queen by name (Sheba) in the 34th Chapter. Arab sources name her Balqis or Bilqis. The Qur'anic narrative, from sura 27 (An-Naml), has Suleiman getting reports from the Hoopoe bird about the kingdom of Saba (Sheba), ruled by a queen whose people worship the sun instead of God. Suleiman sends a letter inviting her to submit fully to the One God, Allah, Lord of the Worlds according to the Islamic text. The Queen of Sheba is unsure how to respond and asks her advisors for council. They reply by reminding her that they are "of great toughness" in a reference to their willingness to go to war should she choose to. She replies that she fears if they were to lose, Suleiman may behave as any other king would: 'entering a country, despoiling it and making the most honorable of its people its lowest'. She decides to meet with Suleiman in order to find out more. Suleiman receives her response to meet him, and asks if anyone can bring him her throne before she arrives. A jinn under the control of Suleiman proposed that he will bring it before Suleiman rises from his seat. One who had knowledge of the "Book" proposed to bring him the throne of Bilqis 'in the twinkling of an eye' and accomplished that immediately. The queen arrives at his court, is shown her throne and asked: does your throne look like this? She replied: (It is) as though it were it. When she enters his crystal palace she accepts Abrahamic monotheism and the worship of one God alone, Allah.

Ethiopian accounts

The imperial family of Ethiopia claims its origin directly from the offspring of the Queen of Sheba by King Solomon. The Queen of Sheba ( ), is named Makeda () in the Ethiopian account.

The etymology of her name is uncertain, but there are two principal opinions about its Ethiopian source. One group, which includes the British scholar Edward Ullendorff, holds that it is a corruption of "Candace", the Ethiopian queen mentioned in the New Testament Acts; the other group connects the name with Macedonia, and relates this story to the later Ethiopian legends about Alexander the Great and the era of 330 BCE.

The Italian scholar Carlo Conti Rossini, however, was unconvinced by either of these theories and, in 1954 stated that he believed the matter unresolved.

An ancient compilation of Ethiopian legends, ''Kebra Negast'' ('the Glory of Kings'), is dated to seven hundred years ago and relates a history of Makeda and her descendants. In this account King Solomon is said to have seduced the Queen of Sheba and sired her son, Menelik I, who would become the first Emperor of Ethiopia.

The narrative given in the Kebra Negast - which has no parallel in the Hebrew Biblical story - is that King Solomon invited the Queen of Sheba to a banquet, serving spicy food to induce her thirst, and inviting her to stay in his palace overnight. The Queen asked him to swear that he would not take her by force. He accepted upon the condition that she, in turn, would not take anything from his house by force. The Queen assured that she would not, slightly offended by the implication that she, a rich and powerful monarch, would engage in stealing. However, as she woke up in the middle of the night, she was very thirsty. Just as she reached for a jar of water placed close to her bed, King Solomon appeared, warning her that she was breaking her oath, water being the most valuable of all material possessions. Thus, while quenching her thirst, she set the king free from his promise and they spent the night together.

Other Ethiopian accounts make her the daughter of a king named Agabo or Agabos, in some legends said to have become king after slaying the mythological serpent Arwe; in others, to have been the 28th ruler of the Agazyan tribe. In either event, he is said to have extended his Empire to both sides of the Red Sea.

The tradition that the Biblical Queen of Sheba was a ruler of Ethiopia who visited King Solomon in Jerusalem, in ancient Israel, is supported by the first century CE. Roman (of Jewish origin) historian Flavius Josephus, who identified Solomon’s visitor as a "Queen of Egypt and Ethiopia".

While there are no known traditions of matriarchal rule in Yemen during the early first millennium BC, the earliest inscriptions of the rulers of Dʿmt in northern Ethiopia and Eritrea mention queens of very high status, possibly equal to their kings.

Later receptions

Christian interpretations

Christian interpretations of the scriptures mentioning the Queen of Sheba in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, typically have emphasized both the historical and metaphorical values in the story. The account of the Queen of Sheba is thereby interpreted by Christians as being both a metaphor and an analogy: the Queen's visit to Solomon has been compared to the metaphorical marriage of the Church to Christ where Solomon is the anointed one or the messiah and Sheba represents a Gentile population submitting to the messiah; the Queen of Sheba's chastity has also been depicted as a foreshadowing of the Virgin Mary; and the three gifts that she brought (gold, spices, and stones) have been seen as analogous to the gifts of the Magi (gold, frankincense, and myrrh). The latter is emphasized as being consistent with a passage from Isaiah 60:6; ''And they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring forth gold and incense; and they shall show forth the praises of the Lord.'' This last connection is interpreted as relating to the Magi, the learned astronomers of Sheba who saw a new star and set off on a journey to find a new ruler connected to the new star, that led them to Bethlehem.

Medieval depictions

Art in the Middle Ages depicting the visit of the Queen of Sheba includes the Portal of the Mother of God at the 13th century Amiens Cathedral, which is included as an analogy as part of a larger depiction of the gifts of the Magi. The 12th century cathedrals at Strasbourg, Chartres, Rochester and Canterbury include artistic renditions in such elements as stained glass windows and door jamb decorations.

Renaissance account

Boccaccio's On Famous Women () follows Josephus in calling the Queen of Sheba, Nicaula. Boccaccio goes on to explain that not only was she the Queen of Ethiopia and Egypt, but also the queen of Arabia. She also is related to have had a grand palace on "a very large island" called Meroe, located someplace near the Nile river, "practically on the other side of the world." From there Nicaula crossed the deserts of Arabia, through Ethiopia and Egypt, and up the coast of the Red Sea, to come to Jerusalem to see "the great King Solomon".

Christine de Pizan's ''The Book of the City of Ladies'' continues the convention of calling the Queen of Sheba, Nicaula. Piero della Francesca's frescoes in Arezzo (ca 1466) on the ''Legend of the True Cross'', contain two panels on the visit of the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. The legend links the beams of Solomon's palace (adored by Queen of Sheba) to the wood of the crucifixion. The Renaissance continuation of the metaphorical view of the Queen of Sheba as an analogy to the gifts of the Magi also is clearly evident in the Triptych of the Adoration of the Magi (c. 1510), by Hieronymus Bosch. Bosch chooses to depict a scene of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon in an ornately decorated collar worn by one of the Magi.

Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus refers to the Queen of Sheba as Saba, when Mephistopheles is trying to persuade Faustus of the wisdom of the women with whom he supposedly shall be presented every morning.

Theories concerning the origin of the account

Possible Egyptian derivation

Josephus says in his ''Antiquity of the Jews'', book 8 chapter 6, that it was the "queen of Egypt and Ethiopia" who visited King Solomon.

Recent archaeological discoveries

Recent archaeological discoveries in Mareb, Yemen support the view that the Queen of Sheba ruled over southern Arabia, with evidence suggesting that the area was the capital of the Kingdom of Sheba.

A team of researchers funded by the American Foundation for the Study of Man (AFSM) and led by University of Calgary archaeology professor, Dr. Bill Glanzman, has been working to "unlock the secrets of a 3,000-year-old temple in Yemen." "We have an enormous job ahead of us," said Glanzman in 2007. "Our first task is to wrest the sanctuary from the desert sands, documenting our findings as we go. We're trying to determine how the temple was associated with the Queen of Sheba, how the sanctuary was used throughout history, and how it came to play such an important role in Arab folklore."

See also

Sheba

Minaean

King Solomon

Old Testament

Teleportation in Islam

Bilocation

Biblical narratives and the Qur'an

Footnotes

Primary sources

Budge, E. A. Wallis, ''The Queen of Sheba and her only son Menelik'', London 1932.

Jankowski, A., ''Die Königin von Saba und Salomo'', Hamburg 1987.

Joseph, ''Antiquitates iudaicae'', viii.6.2.

Pliny the Elder, ''Naturalis historia'', vi.32.154.

Secondary sources

Makeda, Queen of Sheba by Torrey Philemon.

Queen of Sheba Temple restored (2000, BBC)

The Queen Of Sheba by Michael Wood and the BBC.

The Queen of Sheba, web directory with thumbnail galleries

Jewish Encyclopedia with information on Jewish and Muslim legends

"Queen of Sheba mystifies at the Bowers" — Gladys Rama's review of a museum exhibit for UC Irvine's 'New U' publication

Bibliography

Alessandro de Maigret. ''Arabia Felix'', translated Rebecca Thompson. London: Stacey International, 2002. ISBN 1-900988-07-0

Andrey Korotayev. ''Ancient Yemen''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-19-922237-1.

Category:10th-century BC female rulers Category:10th-century BC biblical rulers Category:Arabian Peninsula Category:Arab queens Category:Queens Category:Arab people Category:Rulers of Yemen Category:Jews and Judaism in Ethiopia Category:Monarchs of the Hebrew Bible Category:Converts to Judaism Category:Beta Israel Category:History of Yemen Category:Jewish monarchs Category:Solomon Category:Islam and women Category:Muslim views of biblical figures

ar:بلقيس ast:Reina de Saba be:Царыца Саўская be-x-old:Царыца Саўская bg:Савска царица ca:Reina de Sabà cs:Královna ze Sáby da:Dronningen af Saba de:Königin von Saba et:Seeba kuninganna es:Reina de Saba eo:Reĝino de Ŝeba eu:Sabako erregina fa:محرم بلقیس fr:Reine de Saba gl:Raíña de Sabá ko:시바의 여왕 hr:Kraljica od Sabe id:Makeda it:Regina di Saba he:מלכת שבא la:Regina Saba hu:Sába királynője mt:Reġina ta' Saba ms:Ratu Balqis nl:Koningin van Sheba ja:シバの女王 no:Dronningen av Saba pl:Makeda pt:Rainha de Sabá ro:Regina din Saba ru:Царица Савская simple:Queen of Sheba sk:Kráľovná zo Sáby sl:Kraljica iz Sabe sr:Краљица од Сабе sh:Kraljica od Sabe fi:Saban kuningatar sv:Drottningen av Saba tl:Reyna ng Sheba ta:மாக்கேடா tr:Saba Melikesi Belkıs uk:Бількіс war:Reyna han Sheba zh:示巴女王

name	James Beeland Rogers, Jr.
birth date	October 19, 1942
birth place	Baltimore, Maryland, USA
occupation	investor, financial commentator, and author
alma mater	Balliol College, OxfordYale University
website	www.jimrogers.com
footnotes	}}

James Beeland Rogers, Jr. (born October 19, 1942) is an American investor, financial commentator, and author based in Singapore. He is chairman of Rogers Holdings and Beeland Interests, Inc. He was the co-founder of the Quantum Fund with George Soros and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index (RICI).

Rogers is an outspoken proponent of the free market, but he does not consider himself a member of any school of thought. Rogers acknowledged, however, that his views best fit the label of Austrian School of economics.

Biography

Rogers was born in Baltimore, Maryland and raised in Demopolis, Alabama. He started in business at the age of five by selling peanuts and by picking up empty bottles that fans left behind at baseball games. He got his first job on Wall Street, at Dominick & Dominick, after graduating with a bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1964. Rogers then acquired a second BA degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Balliol College, Oxford University in 1966.

In 1970, Rogers joined Arnhold and S. Bleichroder. In 1973, Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund with George Soros. During the following 10 years, the portfolio gained 4200% while the S&P advanced about 47%. The Quantum Fund was one of the first truly international funds.

In 1980, Rogers decided to "retire", and spent some of his time traveling on a motorcycle around the world. Since then, he has been a guest professor of finance at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.

In 1989 and 1990, Rogers was the moderator of WCBS' ''The Dreyfus Roundtable'' and FNN's ''The Profit Motive with Jim Rogers''. From 1990 to 1992, he traveled through China again, as well as around the world, on motorcycle, over 100,000 miles (160,000 km) across six continents, which was picked up in the ''Guinness Book of World Records''. He tells of his adventures and worldwide investments in ''Investment Biker'', a bestselling investment book.

In 1998, Rogers founded the Rogers International Commodity Index. In 2007, the index and its three sub-indices were linked to exchange-traded notes under the banner ELEMENTS. The notes track the total return of the indices as an accessible way to invest in the index. Rogers is an outspoken advocate of agriculture investments and, in addition to the Rogers Commodity Index, is involved with two direct, farmland investment funds - Agrifirma, based in Brazil, and Agcapita Farmland Investment Partnership, based in Canada.

Between January 1, 1999 and January 5, 2002, Rogers did another Guinness World Record journey through 116 countries, covering 245,000 kilometers with his wife, Paige Parker, in a custom-made Mercedes. The trip began in Iceland, which was about to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of Leif Eriksson's first trip to America. On January 5, 2002, they were back in New York City and their home on Riverside Drive. His route around the world can be viewed on his website, jimrogers.com. He wrote ''Adventure Capitalist'' following this around-the-world adventure. It is currently his bestselling book.

On his return in 2002, Rogers became a regular guest on Fox News' ''Cavuto on Business'' which airs every Saturday. In 2005, Rogers wrote ''Hot Commodities: How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market''. In this book, Rogers quotes a ''Financial Analysts Journal'' academic paper co-authored by Yale School of Management professor, Geert Rouwenhorst, entitled ''Facts and Fantasies about Commodity Futures''. Rogers contends this paper shows that commodities investment is one of the best investments over time, which is a concept somewhat at odds with conventional investment thinking.

In December 2007, Rogers sold his mansion in New York City for about 16 million USD and moved to Singapore. Rogers claimed that he moved because now is a ground-breaking time for investment potential in Asian markets. Rogers's first daughter is now being tutored in Mandarin to prepare her for the future. He is quoted as saying: "If you were smart in 1807 you moved to London, if you were smart in 1907 you moved to New York City, and if you are smart in 2007 you move to Asia." In a CNBC interview with Maria Bartiromo broadcast on May 5, 2008, Rogers said that people in China are extremely motivated and driven, and he wants to be in that type of environment, so his daughters are motivated and driven. He also stated that this is how America and Europe used to be. He chose not to move to Chinese cities like Hong Kong or Shanghai due to the high levels of pollution causing potential health problems for his family; hence, he chose Singapore. He has also advocated investing in certain smaller Asian frontier markets such as Sri Lanka and Cambodia, and currently serves as an Advisor to Leopard Capital’s Leopard Sri Lanka Fund. However, he is not fully bullish on all Asian nations, as he remains skeptical of India's future - "India as we know it will not survive another 30 or 40 years". In 2008 Rogers endorsed Ron Paul for President of the United States.

Rogers has two daughters with Paige Parker. Hilton Augusta(nicknamed Happy) was born in 2003, and their second daughter Beeland Anderson in 2008. His latest book, ''A Gift To My Children'', contains lessons in life for his daughters as well as investment advice and was published in 2009.

On November 4, 2010, at Oxford University’s Balliol College, he urged students to scrap career plans for Wall Street or the City, London’s financial district, and to study agriculture and mining instead. “The power is shifting again from the financial centers to the producers of real goods. The place to be is in commodities, raw materials, natural resources."

In February 2011 Rogers announced that he has started a new index fund which focuses on "the top companies in agriculture, mining, metals and energy sectors as well as those in the alternative energy space including solar, wind and hydro." The index is called The Rogers Global Resources Equity Index and the best and most liquid companies, according to Rogers, go into the index.

Books

1995: ''Investment Biker: Around the World with Jim Rogers''. - ISBN 1-55850-529-6

2003: ''Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip''. - ISBN 0375509127

2004: ''Hot Commodities: How Anyone Can Invest Profitably in the World's Best Market''. - ISBN 140006337X

2007: ''A Bull in China: Investing Profitably in the World's Greatest Market''. - ISBN 1400066166

2009: ''A Gift to My Children: A Father's Lessons For Life And Investing''. - ISBN 1400067545

Further reading

External links

The Millennium Adventure, Official Jim Rogers website

The Rogers International Commodity Index A site for information on the RICI

The Jim Rogers Blog

;Articles

"An Early Christmas for Jim Rogers". - ''BusinessWeek'' - December 8, 2004.

"Invest In Commodities – and Keep Your Shirt". - November 23, 2006.

"We Want Our Kids To Learn Chinese". - MySinchew. - July 19, 2008. - (article about Rogers' life in Singapore)

"Adventure Capitalist". - ''PODER Magazine''. - April 2010.

;Interviews

Curated Interview With Jim Rogers From Market Wizards

Jim Rogers on the British Pound, US Dollar, And China

Jim Rogers, The Adventure Capitalist

Jim Rogers and George Soros Started the Quantum Fund

rediff.com: The Money Interview/Jim Rogers, investor, globetrotter

Financial Sense Newshour's Ask The Expert: Jim Rogers:

*2003.

*May 6, 2004.

Riverside Conversations: a 3 Part TV Series with Marc Faber

SCMP video interview, September 8, 2008.

Investors Chronicle interview. - (on the decline of the US/Europe, emerging markets, commodities). - November 2008.

Bloomberg Night Talk interview. - November 24, 2008.

Jim Rogers on The Lew Rockwell Show:

*"The Crash of '08". - December 12, 2008. - (*.MP3 audio)

*"Economic Advice to My Children (and You)". - May 17, 2009. - (*.MP3 audio)

Bloomberg TV Jim Rogers Special. - December 24, 2008.

''TIME'' Q&A: Jim Rogers:

*April 28, 2009.

*October 31, 2008.

Interview from March 2009 on Channel 4

Jim Rogers Sat 3 Interview German TV Sat 3

References

Category:Austrian School economists Category:1942 births Category:American investors Category:American money managers Category:Living people Category:Hedge fund managers Category:Financial analysts Category:Stock traders Category:Stock and commodity market managers Category:Columbia Business School faculty Category:Yale University alumni Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Category:People from Demopolis, Alabama

zh-min-nan:Jim Rogers de:Jim Rogers fr:Jim Rogers it:Jim Rogers he:ג'ים רוג'רס lt:Jim Rogers nl:Jim Rogers ja:ジム・ロジャーズ no:Jim Rogers sv:Jim Rogers zh:占·羅傑斯

Type	monarch
Name	King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud
Full name	Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz bin Abdul-Rahman bin Faisal bin Turki bin Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Saud
Native name
Title	Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
Succession	King of Saudi Arabia
Reign	August 1, 2005('''')
Coronation	August 2, 2005
Cor-type	Bayaa
Predecessor	Fahd
House	House of Saud
Father	Abdul-Aziz
Mother	Fahda bint Asi Al Shuraim
Birth date	August 01, 1923
Birth place	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Networth	$21 billion
Religion	Sunni Islam

Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, () (born August 1, 1923) is the current King of Saudi Arabia.

On August 1, 2005, he succeeded to the throne upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. Previously, as Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1996 to 2005. He has been Commander of the Saudi Arabian National Guard from 1962 to November 2010. He is one of the world's wealthiest royals.

Second Deputy Prime Minister

King Khalid appointed Abdullah as Second Deputy Prime Minister, which is second in line of succession to the Saudi throne. However, Abdullah's appointment caused friction in the House of Saud. Fahd and the Sudairi Seven supported the appointment of their own full brother, Sultan. Abdullah was pressured to concede control of SANG in return for his appointment as Second Deputy Prime Minister. In August 1977, this caused a debate between hundreds of princes in Riyadh. Abdullah did not concede authority of SANG because he feared that would weaken his authority.

Crown Prince

In May 1982, when Fahd became King, Abdullah became Crown Prince the same day. He maintained his position as head of the armed forces.

When Fahd was incapacitated by a major stroke in 1996, Abdullah acted as ''de facto'' regent ruler of Saudi Arabia.

In August 2001, he ordered Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan to return to Washington. This reportedly occurred after Abdullah witnessed a brutality between an Israeli soldier and a Palestinian woman. He later also condemned Israel for attacking families of accused suspects.

On the second anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the United States, the then-prince wrote a letter to U.S. President George W. Bush, which ended with:

"God Almighty, in His wisdom, tests the faithful by allowing such calamities to happen. But He, in His mercy, also provides us with the will and determination, generated by faith, to enable us to transform such tragedies into great achievements, and crises that seem debilitating are transformed into opportunities for the advancement of humanity. I only hope that, with your cooperation and leadership, a new world will emerge out of the rubble of the World Trade Center: a world that is blessed by the virtues of freedom, peace, prosperity and harmony."

King of Saudi Arabia

Abdullah succeeded to the throne upon the death of his half-brother King Fahd. He was formally enthroned on August 3, 2005. At age 87, he is one of the world's oldest reigning monarchs. He has topped the 500 Most Influential Muslims list for two consecutive years in 2009 and 2010.

Domestic affairs

He has implemented many reform measures. He has re-shuffled the Ministry of Education's leadership in February 2009 by bringing in the King's pro-reform son-in-law as the new minister. He also at the same time appointed Nora bint Abdullah al-Fayez, a US-educated former teacher, as deputy education minister in charge of a new department for female students.

He has done a top-to-bottom restructuring of the country's courts to introduce, among other things, review of judicial decisions and more professional training for Shari'a judges. He has been responsible for the creation of a new investment promotion agency to overhaul the once-convoluted process of starting a business in Saudi Arabia. He has created a regulatory body for capital markets. He has promoted the construction of the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (the country's new flagship and controversially-coed institution for advanced scientific research). He has done a substantial budgetary investment in educating the workforce for future jobs. The Saudi government is also encouraging the development of non-hydrocarbon sectors in which the Kingdom has a comparative advantage, including mining, solar energy, and religious tourism. The Kingdom's 2010 budget reflects these priorities—about 25 percent is devoted to education alone—and amounts to a significant economic stimulus package.

In 2005, he implemented a government scholarship program to send young Saudi men and women to Western universities for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. The program offers funds for tuition and living expenses up to four years. It is estimated that more than 70,000 students have studied abroad in more than 25 countries. United States, England, and Australia are the top three destinations mostly aimed for by the young Saudi students. There are now more than 22,000 Saudi students studying in the US, exceeding pre-9/11 levels. Public health engagement has included breast cancer awareness and CDC cooperation to set up an advanced epidemic screening network that protected this year's 3 million Hajj pilgrims.

The response of his administration to homegrown terrorism has been a series of crackdowns including raids by security forces, arrests, torture and public beheadings. He has vowed to fight terrorist ideologies within the country. He has made the protection of Saudi Arabia's critical infrastructure a top security priority.

His strategy against terrorism has been two-pronged: he has attacked the roots of the extremism that fed Al-Qaida through education and judicial reforms to weaken the influence of the most reactionary elements of Saudi Arabia's religious establishment. He is also promoting economic diversification. He is keenly aware of the urgent need to make Saudi education more relevant to today's workplace and increase the role of women in the economy.

He decreed in August 2010 that only officially approved religious scholars associated with the Senior Council of Ulema would be allowed to issue fatwas. Similar decrees since 2005 were previously seldom enforced. Individual fatwas relating to personal matters were exempt from the royal decree. The decree also instructed the Grand Mufti to identify eligible scholars.

In light of the 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests, Abdullah has laid down a $37-billion programme of new spending including new jobless benefits, education and housing subsidies, debt write-offs, and a new sports channel. There was also a pledged to spend a total of $400bn by the end of 2014 to improve education, health care and the kingdom’s infrastructure. Saudi police arrested 100 Shiite protesters who complained of government discrimination.

Interfaith dialogue

In November 2007, he visited Pope Benedict XVI in the Apostolic Palace. He is the first Saudi monarch to visit the Pope.

In March 2008, he called for a “brotherly and sincere dialogue between believers from all religions.”

In June 2008, he held a conference at Mecca to urge Muslim leaders to speak with one voice with Jewish and Christian leaders. He discussed and took approval of the Saudi Islamic scholars and the world's renowned Islamic scholars to hold the interfaith dialogue. In the same month, Saudi Arabia and Spain agreed to hold the interfaith dialogue in Spain. The historic conference finally took place in Madrid in July 2008 where religious leaders of different faiths participated.

He had never earlier made any overtures for dialogue with eastern religious leaders such as Hindus and Buddhists. The Mecca conference discussed an important paper on the dialogue with the followers of monotheistic religions highlighting the monotheistic religions of southeast Asia including Sikhism in the third axis of the fourth meeting titled "With Whom We Talk" presented by Sheikh Badrul Hasan Al Qasimi. The session was chaired by Dr. Ezz Eddin Ibrahim, Adviser to the President of the United Arab Emirates for Culture. The session also discussed a paper presented on coordination among Islamic institutions on Dialogue by Dr. Abdullah bin Omar Nassif, Secretary General of the World Islamic Council for Preaching and Relief and a paper on dialogue with divine messages, presented by Professor Mohammad Sammak - Secretary General of the Islamic Spiritual Summit in Lebanon. The session ended by Sheikh Al Fadel Alzafzaaf, Under Secretary-Azhar and Chairman of the Committee for dialogue among religions formerly, Cairo discussing the future of dialogue in the light of repeated abuse to Islam.

On November 2008, he and his government were responsible for the 'Peace of Culture' which took place at the United Nations General Assembly. It brought together Muslim and non-Muslim nations to eradicate the preconception of Islam and Terrorism. It brought together leaders including former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair, Israeli President Shimon Peres, former U.S. President George W. Bush and King Abdullah II of Jordan.

Arab nationalism

He has called for the establishment of an Arab common market. His foreign minister stated the Arab Customs Union would be ready by 2015 and by 2017 the common market would also be in place. There have been intensive efforts to link Arab countries with a railway system and an electricity power grid. Work on the power grid project has started in some Arab countries.

United States

In October 1976, as Prince Abdullah was being trained for greater responsibility in Riyadh, he was sent to the United States to meet with President Gerald Ford. He again traveled to the United States as Crown Prince in October 1987, meeting Vice President George H. W. Bush. In September 1998, Crown Prince Abdullah made a state visit to the United States to meet in Washington, D.C. with President Bill Clinton. In September 2000, he attended millennium celebrations at the United Nations in New York City. In April 2002, Crown Prince Abdullah made a state visit to the United States with President George W. Bush and he returned again in April 2005 with Bush. In April 2009, at a summit for world leaders U.S. President Barack Obama met him. In June 2009, Abdullah hosted President Obama in Saudi Arabia. In turn, Obama hosted Abdullah at the White House in the same month.

He has shown great support for Obama's presidency. "Thank God for bringing Obama to the presidency," he said, adding that Obama's election created "great hope" in the Muslim world. He stated, "We (the U.S. and Saudi Arabia) spilled blood together" in Kuwait and Iraq and Saudi Arabia valued this tremendously and friendship can be a difficult issue that requires work but the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have done it for 70 years over three generations. "Our disagreements don't cut to the bone," he stated. He was the leading gift-giver to the U.S. president and his office in his first two years in office, worth more than $300,000 from Abdullah. A ruby and diamond jewellery set, given by the king and accepted by Michelle Obama on behalf of the United States, was worth $132,000. However, according to federal law, gifts of such nature and value are accepted "on behalf of the United States" and are considered property of the U.S. government.

He said that "it was a mistake" to limit access of Saudi citizens to the United States.

Iraq

The Bush Administration ignored advice from him and Saudi foreign minister Saud Al Faisal against invading Iraq. However, other sources say that many Arab governments were only nominally opposed to the Iraq invasion because of popular hostility. Before becoming king, Abdullah was thought to be completely against the U.S. invasion of Iraq; this, however, was not the case. Riyadh provided essential support to the United States during the war and proved that "necessity does lead to some accommodations from time to time." The King expressed a complete lack of trust in Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and held out little hope for improved Saudi-Iraqi relations as long as al-Maliki remains in office. King Abdullah told an Iraqi official about Nouri al-Maliki, “You and Iraq are in my heart, but that man is not.”

Iran

In April 2008, he told US ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker and US General David Petraeus to "cut off the head of the snake". Saudi Arabia's ambassador to Washington, Adel al-Jubeir recalled the King's frequent exhortations to the US to attack Iran and to put an end to its nuclear weapons program." Abdullah asserted that Iran is trying to set up Hezbollah-like organizations in African countries, observing that the Iranians don't think they are doing anything wrong and don't recognize their mistakes. He said the Iranians "launch missiles with the hope of putting fear in people and the world." The King described his conversation with Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki as "a heated exchange, frankly discussing Iran's interference in Arab affairs." When challenged by the King on Iranian meddling in Hamas affairs, Mottaki apparently protested that "these are Muslims." "No, Arabs" countered the King, "You as Persians have no business meddling in Arab matters." Abdullah said he would favor Rafsanjani in an Iranian election.

He told General Jones that Iranian internal turmoil presented an opportunity to weaken the regime—which he encouraged—but he also urged that this be done covertly and stressed that public statements in support of the reformers were counterproductive. The King assessed that sanctions could help weaken the government, but only if they are strong and sustained.

In 2006, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei had sent his adviser Ali Akbar Velayati with a letter asking for Abdullah's agreement to establish a formal back channel for communication between the two leaders. Abdullah said he had agreed, and the channel was established with Velayati and Saud Al-Faisal as the points of contact. In the years since, the King noted, the channel had never been used.

Guantanamo Bay

In March 2009, Abdullah proposed implanting Guantanamo detainees with a chip that contained their personal information before authorities tracked their movements using Bluetooth technology. He stated that "keeping track of detainees was an extremely important issue" and promised to review such a suggestion with "appropriate officials" when he returned to the United States.

In December 2010, leaked diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks revealed that he wanted all detainees released from the Guantánamo Bay prison to be tracked through an implanted microchip. The King made the private suggestion during a meeting in March last year in Riyadh with John Brennan, the White House counter-terrorism adviser. Mr Brennan replied that "horses don't have good lawyers" and that such a proposal would "face legal hurdles" in the United States. In the same cables it was revealed that he also privately urged the United States to attack Iran to destroy its nuclear weapons program.

China

Since Abdullah's visit to Beijing in January 2006, the Saudi-Chinese relationship has focused predominantly on energy and trade. The king's visit was the first by a Saudi head of state to China since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1990. Bilateral trade with China has more than tripled, and China will soon be Saudi Arabia's largest importer. Saudi Arabia has also committed significant investments in China, including the $8 billion Fujian refinery. Based on the cablegate wikileaks report: The King has told the Chinese that it is willing to effectively trade a guaranteed oil supply in return for Chinese pressure on Iran not to develop nuclear weapons.

Foreign relations with other nations

In a November 2009, the King was received by Nicolas Sarkozy who committed various diplomatic faux pas. The diplomatic relationship Jacques Chirac had with Saudi Arabia was not evident with Sarkozy. In January 2011, the Kingdom granted asylum to the ousted Tunisian leader, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, under conditions of no further political involvement.

Saudi Arabia, by the endorsement of the Gulf Cooperation Council, sent 1200 troops to Bahrain to protect industrial facilities which resulted in a strained relations with the United States. It should be mentioned that the forces sent were not Saudi forces but rather a coalition from a multitude of Arab Gulf countries. The military personnel sent were part of the Peninsula Shield forces who are stationed in Saudi Arabia but not affiliated with one country alone.

According to leaked cables, he was more receptive to Yemeni President Saleh than Crown Prince Sultan.

He has supported renewed diplomatic relations with the Syrian government and Bashar al-Assad. Assad attended the opening of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in October 2009. In August, 2011, he recalled the Saudi Ambassador from Damascus due to the political unrest in Syria.

Criticism

On February 16, 2003, Parade Magazine's David Wallechinsky rated King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah as the second worst dictator in the world. In a slight rebuff to accusations of human rights violations, Saudi inmates of Najran sent the King well-wishes from jail and wished him a speedy recovery.

On January 24, 2007, Human Rights Watch sent an open letter to King Abdullah asking him to cease religious persecution of the Ahmadi faith in Saudi Arabia. Two letters were sent in November 2006 and February 2007 asking him to remove the travel ban on critics of the Saudi government. Human Rights Watch has not yet indicated whether they have received any response to these letters.

On October 30, 2007, during a state visit to the United Kingdom, Abdullah was greeted by protesters accusing him of being a "murderer" and a "torturer". Concerns were raised in the UK about the treatment of women and homosexuals by the Saudi kingdom. Concerns were also raised over alleged bribes involving arms deals between Saudi Arabia and the UK.

Succession to the throne

King Abdullah's half brother Crown Prince Sultan is his designated successor. The apparent next in line is Sultan's full brother, Prince Nayef

In 2006, Abdullah set up the Allegiance Council, a body that is composed of the sons and grandsons of Saudi Arabia's founder, King Abdul-Aziz, to vote by a secret ballot to choose future kings and crown princes. The council's mandate will not start until after the reigns of Abdullah and Sultan are over. It is not clear, however, what would happen if Sultan were to die before the end of Abdullah's reign, leaving a question as to whether the council would vote for a new crown prince or whether Nayef would automatically fill that position.

On November 2010, Prince Nayef chaired a cabinet meeting because of the deterioration of the King's health During the same month, King Abdullah transferred his duties as Commander of the Saudi National Guard to his son Prince Mutaib. Abdullah is credited with building up the once largely ceremonial unit into a modern 260,000-strong force that is a counterweight to the army. The Guard, which was Abdullah's original power base, protects the royal family. This was suggested as an apparent sign that the elderly monarch is beginning to lessen some of his duties.

Various positions

King Abdullah was Commander of the Saudi National Guard from 1963 to 2010. He is Chairman of the Supreme Economic Council, President of the High Council for Petroleum and Minerals, President of the King Abdul-Aziz Centre for National Dialogue, Chairman of the Council of Civil Service, and head of the Military Service Council.

Personal life

Family

Abdullah is the sixth son (out of 37 sons) of King Abdul-Aziz, the founder of modern Saudi Arabia, to ascend to the throne. He is, after his half-brothers Bandar and Musaid, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdul-Aziz.

His mother is Al-Rashidi, longtime rivals of the Al Saud. He has 4 wives, 22 children — 7 sons and 15 daughters. His youngest son was born in 2003. His son Prince Mutaib is the Commander of the National Guard. His son Prince Mishaal is the Governor of the Najran Province. His daughter Princess Adila is married to Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Muhammad, the new Education Minister appointed in 2009. Adila is one of the few Saudi princesses with a semi-public role and a known advocate of women's right to drive. His son Prince Abdul-Aziz is his Syrian adviser.

Health

The king has curtailed his activities since June 2010 with no clear explanation. Diplomats said there has been uncertainty about the extent of his health problems since Abdullah canceled a visit to France. In a television appearance in which he was seen to use a cane, King Abdullah said he was in good health but had something "bothering" him.

In November 2010, his back problems came to light in the media. He had an "accumulation of blood" around the spinal cord. He suffered from a herniated disc and was told to rest by doctors. Later, an expected—but never officially announced—visit by then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak became a phone call between the two leaders instead. He was admitted to New York-Presbyterian Hospital after a blood clot complicated a slipped disc and underwent successful back surgery. The surgeons probably removed the herniated disk and performed a lumbar fusion. He had another successful surgery in which surgeons "stabilized a number of vertebras". He left the hospital on December 21 and convalesced at the New York Plaza Hotel. On January 22, he left the United States and went to Morocco. He then returned to the Kingdom on 23 February 2011.

Saudi authorities have been unusually open in going public with the king's condition, apparently in an effort to prevent any speculation and reassure allies of the key Mideast nation and oil power. Personal issues within the royal family are often kept under strict wraps. To maintain the Kingdom's stability Crown Prince Sultan returned from Morocco in the meantime.

On February 23, 2011 King Abdullah returned home after 3 months of treatment outside the kingdom in United States and then following his backup treatment in Morocco.

Philanthropy

King Abdullah paid for the separation surgery of a pair of Polish conjoined twins, which took place at the King Abd al-Aziz Medical City in Riyadh on January 3, 2005. He was given "honorary citizenship" by the Polish town of Janikowo, where the twins were born. On March 18, 2005, he was awarded the Order of the Smile (which he received during his visit to Poland in 2007).

He has established two libraries, the King Abdulaziz Library in Riyadh and another in Casablanca, Morocco.

He donated over $300,000 to furnish a New Orleans high school rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina.

He has donated $50 million in cash and $10 million worth of relief materials for the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China.

He donated $10 billion to the endowment fund of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in May 2008.

He established the King Abdullah University (Rawalakot) in Pakistan's Azad Jammu & Kashmir after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

On February 5, 2011, he waived $156 million USD of housing loans for nearly 3,300 Saudis who had passed away.

Wealth

His wealth and personal income is estimated at |US}}, ranking him as one of the richest royals in the world.

Notes

See also

United States diplomatic cables leak

External links

Biography of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia

Equestrian Club of Riyadh

Saudi king details succession law, ''BBC News'', 9 October 2007

Category:Arab politicians Category:Kings of Saudi Arabia Category:Current national leaders Category:Politics of Saudi Arabia Category:Reigning monarchs Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece Category:Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Category:Recipients of the Royal Victorian Chain Category:1924 births Category:Living people Category:Polygamy Category:Prime Ministers of Saudi Arabia Category:Saudi Arabian billionaires Category:Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Category:Saudi Arabian Muslims

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name	Wolf Hoffmann
birth date	December 10, 1959
origin	Mainz, Germany
instrument	Guitar
genre	Heavy metal, speed metal, hard rock
associated acts	Accept
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist }}

Wolf Hoffmann (born December 10, 1959 in Mainz, Germany) grew up in Wuppertal. He is primarily known as guitarist in the German heavy metal band Accept since 1976. In 1997, he released the album ''Classical'' with rock versions of classical pieces. He contributed to Skid Row vocalist Sebastian Bach's solo album ''Bring 'Em Bach Alive!'' and to a 2000 Japanese tribute to Randy Rhoads album called ''Randy Rhoads Tribute'' with Sebastian Bach on "I Don't Know" and with Joe Lynn Turner on "Diary of a Madman". Hoffmann also contributed to ''Peace Breaker'' by Skew Siskin.

He has loved photography as a hobby early on, and eventually made it his second career. He took the cover photo for Objection Overruled. During Accept's hiatus from 1997, Hoffmann has worked as a professional photographer (website listed below). He is currently based in Nashville, TN, but also maintains a residence in Berlin, Germany.

Wolf Hoffmann is married to Gaby Hoffmann (née Hauke), who used to be Accept's manager. Gaby Hauke contributed to Accept's songwriting under the pseudonym Deaffy.

Accept reformed with Hoffmann on board in 2009. Their comeback album, ''Blood of the Nations'', was released August 20, 2010 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. They are planning to make another album in the future.

References

External links

Accept's official website

Hoffmann's photography website

Category:German heavy metal guitarists Category:Lead guitarists Category:1959 births Category:Living people

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