His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal , the ninth Governor of the Makkah Province, and the first to assume the governorship twice, with an interval during which he served as Minister of Education.
Birth and Upbringing
He was born in the Holy City of Makkah in 1359H (1940 AD), as the third son of the late King Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. He studied the Holy Qur’an and completed the first and second grades of elementary school at Al-Amiriyah School in Al-Ahsa Governorate. He then continued his studies at Al-Namudhajiyah School in Taif Governorate, where he completed his secondary education in 1377H (1957 AD).
He then enrolled at HUN School in New Jersey, near New York. After four years, he transferred to schools in Princeton, where he obtained the American High School Diploma in 1381H (1961 AD). He subsequently earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom in 1385H (1966 AD).
Professional Life
- Director of Youth Welfare in 1387H (1967 AD), currently the Ministry of Sports.
- Governor of the Asir Region from 1390H (1971 AD) to 1428H (2007 AD).
- Governor of the Makkah Province from 1428H (2007 AD) to 1435H (2013 AD).
- Minister of Education (currently the Ministry of Education) from 1435H (2013 AD) to 1436H (2015 AD).
- Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of the Makkah Province since 1436H (2015 AD) to the present.
Titles and Interests
His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, poetically known as “Da’im Al-Saif” (Everlasting Sword), is a distinguished man of letters, poet, and visual artist. He has published several poetic and literary collections, as well as developmental writings, and has made diverse cultural and literary contributions. He has made numerous contributions, including the establishment of the Abha Literary Prize, supervision of the creation of the Abha Literary Club, the founding of the Arab Thought Foundation and Al-Faisal magazine, contribution to the establishment of the King Faisal Foundation, as well as founding the Makkah Excellence Award and sponsoring the Makkah Cultural Forum. He also launched the Prince Khalid Al-Faisal Center for Moderation, which grants an annual award to promote the values of moderation, tolerance, and the rejection of extremism and excess.
His Literary Works and Publications
He is the founder of the first literary and cultural forum in Riyadh, and has published several collections of poetry, including:
“Qasa’id Nabatiyyah”, “The Second Diwan”, “Letter and Color”, “If Not… Then Who?!”, “The Weight of Words”, and “Al-Manqiyah”, in addition to his books “From the Kaaba and Back: Building the Individual and Developing the Place” and “The Distance of Development An Eyewitness Account.”
Memberships and Committees
- Member of the Allegiance Council.
- Chief Executive Officer of the King Faisal Foundation.
- Chairman of the Board of the King Faisal Prize.
- Founder and Chairman of the Arab Thought Foundation.
- Founder and Chairman of the Tourism Promotion Committee in the Asir Region .
- Founder and Honorary Chairman of the National Tourism Company in the Asir Region .
- Former Board Member of the Saudi Wildlife Authority .
- Member of the Board of Trustees of the Institute for the History of Arab and Islamic Sciences at the University of Frankfurt, Germany .
- Honorary President of the Fès-Saïs Association for Cultural, Social, and Economic Development in Morocco.
- Member of the Committee for the Ain Zubaidah Reconstruction Project in Makkah Province .
- Chairman of the Permanent Hajj and Umrah Committee, and Vice Chairman of the Supreme Hajj Committee .
- Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of Souq Okaz.
- Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Makkah Youth Forum .
- Chairman of the Tourism Development Council in the Makkah Province .
- Member of the Ministerial Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee for Flood Damage Mitigation in Jeddah Governorate .
- Chairman of the Ministerial Committee of the Makkah and Holy Sites Development Authority.
- Member of the Ministerial Committee for the Makkah Slum Redevelopment Project, and Chairman of its Executive Committee .
- Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Development of Taif Governorate .
- Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Studying Encroachments on White Lands .
- Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Public Transport Projects in Makkah and Jeddah.
Orders and Honors
- Honorary Doctorate from the University of Lisbon, Portugal (2007) .
- Pioneering Medal from the 4th Gulf Conference on Human Resource Management, in recognition of the idea to launch the Gulf Cup Tournament (1390 AH).
- National Order of the Cedar, Grand Cordon – the highest Lebanese honor at the time – conferred by the Lebanese Prime Minister on behalf of the President of the Republic (1420 AH) .
- Certificate of Honorary Presidency from the Fes-Saiss Association for Cultural, Social, and Economic Development in Morocco (1420 AH).
- The Royal Order of Al-Nahda, First Class, from His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan (1420 AH)
- Shaikh Isa Bin Khalifa Medal, in recognition of the initiative of the Gulf Cup .
- Order of Vila Viçosa, Grand Cross, conferred by the Duke of Braganza.
- Order of Francis I, Grand Cross, conferred by the Duke of Calabria.
- Order of Saint Maurice and Saint Lazarus, Grand Cross, conferred by Prince Fénice .
- His name was included on a spacecraft launched by NASA to Mars (2003) .
- Order of the Collar of Honor with the Golden Emblem from the Arab-Portuguese Institute .
- Order of Intellectual Merit from His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco .
- Cultural Personality of the Year at the Sharjah International Book Fair (2015) .
- Sheikh Khalaf Al Habtoor Achievement Award (2018) .
- Fes-Saiss Association for Cultural, Social, and Economic Development Award (2018) .
- King Abdulaziz Sash, awarded during the reign of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz (1440 AH / 2019).
- Honored by the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in Rabat for his contributions to the Arabic language (2020) .
- Honored by the Arab World Institute in Paris for his literary and intellectual contributions (2021) .
- Honorary Doctorate from Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez (2022) .
- Al-Qassim Excellence and Creativity Award – Role Model Category (1444 AH / 2023) .
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Prince Sultan bin Salman Award for Architectural Heritage (1436 AH / 2014).
- Commemorative Stamp issued by Saudi Post “SPL” in collaboration with the Emirate of Makkah Province in recognition of his contributions (1447 AH / 2025).
