Mutaib bin Abdullah

Mutaib bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (متعب بن عبد الله بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, Mutʿib bin ʿAbd Allāh bin ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ʾĀl Suʿūd) (born 1952) is a member of House of Saud who has served as Saudi Arabia's Minister of the National Guard since 27 May 2013. Previously he was commander of the National Guard from 2010 to 2013.

Early life and education
Prince Mutaib was born in Riyadh in 1952. However, there is another report, giving his birth year as 1953. He is one of 34 children and the third son of King Abdullah. His mother is Munira Al Otaishan.

Mutaib bin Abdullah and his older brother Khalid attended the Taif-Barmana School in Lebanon and secondary school in Jeddah. Later, he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst as a lieutenant in 1974. He received a master’s degree at King Khalid Military College.

Career
Prince Mutaib served as head of the commission responsible for reviewing the curricula of military college built in 1982. One year later, in 1983, King Fahd promoted Captain Mutaib bin Abdullah to the rank of Colonel, and he was also appointed commander of the King Khalid Military City.

In 1990, he began to serve as deputy head of the military under the chairmanship of the National Guard in addition to his post as the commander of the King Khalid military college and the National Guard military college. In 1995, he was promoted to the rank of the team captain. On 21 December 2000, Mutaib bin Abdullah was made deputy assistant chief of National Guard responsible for military affairs and was also promoted to the rank of general. In June 2009, King Abdullah appointed him as deputy commander of SANG responsible for executive affairs at the rank of minister.

On 17 November 2010, Mutaib bin Abdullah became the commander of SANG, replacing King Abdullah. He conducted a major $ 3 billion reorganization of SANG to develop its firepower and artillery. Okaz reported in May 2012 that Prince Mutaib had some future plans to establish a body in SANG having female soldiers.

His appointment is commonly considered to reflect the King Abdullah's emphasis that it was time to start giving the power to the next generation in a way that would reduce the risk of a power struggle within the family. His appointment was also regarded as a move to prepare him for assuming higher-level responsibility in the future. On 27 May 2013, Prince Mutaib was appointed minister of national guard, a post newly created.

Other positions
Prince Mutaib was also appointed as a cabinet member with the rank of minister of state in November 2010. Prince Mutaib is a member of the Military Service Council. He is vice president of the Supreme Committee of the National Festival for Heritage and Culture. He is also head of the technical committee of the Equestrian Club and a member of the board of directors of King Abdulaziz Public Library.

Business activities
At the beginning of the 2000s, Prince Mutaib was local representative for the Ford Motor Corporation in Saudi Arabia.

Influence
In 1997, Paul Michael Wihbey correctly predicted that Crown Prince Abdullah would make his son, Prince Mutaib, the commander of SANG and that Mutaib would modernize SANG's capabilities in regard to counter-insurgency, information collection and tactical field operations. He also regarded Mutaib as a knowledgeable and highly competent commanding officer with strong professional ties to the U.S. military. It was also emphasized that Prince Mutaib developed close relations with powerful regional political and military leaders, including King Hussein and Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Ozal.

Prince Mutaib's influence seems to begin when he was a military officer in the Saudi National Guard (SANG) as a result of being the main advisor to his father, Abdullah, commander of the SANG. During his post in the SANG under King Abdullah's command, Prince Mutaib was reported to answer only to him. He is considered to be a competent member of House of Saud and enjoy a wide following in the large tribes of central Arabia.

Mutaib bin Abdullah is reported to have some characteristics that make him one of the leading second generation princes: his low-profile political status; conservative personal approach and commitment to his father’s doctrine in addition to his strong tribal bonds. However, he is also characterized as both an ambitious and a respectable person. After the death of Crown Prince Nayef on 16 June 2012, Prince Mutaib was regarded as one of the possible contenders.

Views
Saudi university students organized demonstrations at King Khalid University in March 2012, complaining about negative conditions. Prince Mutaib considered these demonstrations as a threat against the security of the Kingdom. He told that reducing problems and meeting the students' demands were not more urgent than security and stability of the country. He further argued that as a result of recent events in the Arab countries, they should be alert to maintain the stability and security of Saudi Arabia.

Personal life
Mutaib bin Abdullah is married to Jawahir bint Abdallah bin Abdul Rahman Al Abdul Rahman. They have six children, three daughters and three sons: Seba, Nouf, Abdullah (born 13 October 1984), Zeina, Saad and Khalid.

His son Abdullah participated in various horse showjumping events. More significantly, Prince Abdullah bin Mutaib had two Olympic appearances, one in 2012 London Olympics.