Talal ibn Abdulaziz

* Al-Waleed

Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud (Arabic: طلال بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ) (b. 1931), sometimes called "The Red Prince", is a member of the House of Saud and a half brother to King Abdullah.

Prince Talal was one of a group of reformers and leader within the royal family known as the Free Princes. In 1958 he wrote a proposed constitution for Saudi Arabia which would have created a constitutional monarchy and expanded civil rights. He began to assemble an elected advisory committee, but his ideas were rejected by the king, and religious leaders in Saudi Arabia issued a fatwa declaring his constitution to be contrary to Islamic law. In 1961 the kingdom revoked his passport and attempted to silence him, but he expatrioted to Egypt and declared himself a socialist. There, influenced by Gamal Abdel Nasser, Talal continued to push for reform and criticise the leadership of the Kingdom.

In 1964 Talal agreed to temper his criticisms in exchange for permission to reenter Saudi Arabia. He is now a successful businessman and prominent philanthropist. Though a senior member of the Al Saud, his past political forays, and an Armenian mother, may have diluted any hopes of a future claim for the throne, though he denies it.

Prince Talal resumed his push for reform in Saudi Arabia in September 2007, when he announced his desire to form a political party (illegal in Saudi Arabia) to advance his goal of liberalizing the country.

= Wives & Offspring =

*Um Faisal bin Talal

Prince Faisal bin Talal ("died in 1991")

*Princess Mona El-Solh, daughter of Riad El-Solh and mother of three:

* Al-Waleed bin Talal ("A business Tycoon")

Princess Reema bint Talal

Prince Khaled bin Talal ("Former Hilal club vollyball honerary member")

*Princess Moudy El-Angary, one of three sisters married to Prince Prince Talal Brothers and mother of three:

Prince Turki bin Talal ("A military officer, businessman, Official representative and Advisor to his father Prince Talal")

Princess Sarah bint Talal ("Chairs a down syndrome organization, a woman's right activist")

Princess Noura bint Talal

*Princess Magdah bint Turki Al-Sudairy, a cousin of the Sudairi Seven, daughter of the newly Human Rights Commission H.E. Turki bin Khaled Al-Sudairy, and mother of eight:

Princess Aljohara bint Talal ("Married to a cousin of the" Sudairi Seven)

Prince Abdul Aziz bin Talal ("Chairs multiple companies, arabian open university executive, headed the first (GCC ; مجلس التعاون الخليجي) WSITGC in kuwait in 2006 [http://www.wsitgc.com/] ")

Prince Abdul Rahman bin Talal ("A student at" Royal Military Academy Sandhurst)

Princess Hebat Allah bint Talal

Princess Elmaha bint Talal

Prince Mansour bin Talal

Prince Mohammed bin Talal

Prince Mashour bin Talal

External links

* [http://www.princetalal.net Official website] , ar_icon
* [http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=97433 Political reform essential for Saudi Arabia, says Prince Talal] (Gulf News Online, September 2003)
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6980056.stm Senior Saudi Royal demands reform] (BBC News, 5 September 2007)