Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud

Early Life and Career

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, was born on 1 November 1974 in Frankfurt, West Germany, and spent part of his childhood and youth there; he speaks fluent German. A son of Prince Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, he was educated in the United States and studied business administration at King Saud University.

Faisal held senior positions in Saudi and international companies, mainly in the aerospace and defence sector: he was a director of Saudi Arabian Military Industries and chaired a joint venture with Boeing. He also served as an adviser to the Royal Court and, from 2017 to 2019, as an adviser at the Saudi embassy in Washington. On 27 March 2019 he became ambassador to Germany, replacing a predecessor who had been recalled during a diplomatic dispute.

Foreign Minister

On 23 October 2019 King Salman appointed Faisal foreign minister by royal decree. In August 2020 he said the peace agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel could be seen as positive, but that Saudi Arabia would not normalise relations with Israel until a peace agreement was signed with the Palestinians; in January 2024 he reiterated that normalisation was impossible without resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and in July 2024, speaking at the European Council on Foreign Relations, he urged European countries to impose sanctions on Israel over its military operations in Gaza.

From 2021 Iraq hosted several rounds of direct talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran. After meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Amman in December 2022, both sides signalled openness to further dialogue. After the Beijing agreement of March 2023 Faisal told Asharq Al-Awsat that it reflected a shared desire to resolve disputes through communication and dialogue, but did not mean that all pending disputes between the two countries had been resolved. On 6 April he and Amir-Abdollahian met in Beijing, the first formal meeting of the two countries' top diplomats in more than seven years; Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang met them together and witnessed their signing of a joint statement announcing the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect.

In February 2025 Faisal and National Security Adviser Musaad Al-Aiban took part in US-Russian talks held in Saudi Arabia, and on 11 March they met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz and a Ukrainian delegation in Jeddah. On 30 June 2026 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with him in Beijing.