Mansour bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Mansour bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1921 – 2 May 1951) (Arabic: منصور بن عبد العزيز آل سعود) was the first defense minister of Saudi Arabia and a member of Saudi royal family, House of Saud.

Early life
Prince Mansour was born in 1921. He is widely believed to be the ninth son of Ibn Saud, but William A. Eddy argues that Prince Mansour is the sixth son of Ibn Saud.

His mother was an Armenian woman, Shahida (died 1938), who was reportedly the favorite wife of Ibn Saud. Prince Mansour had two full brothers, Prince Mishaal and Prince Mutaib and a full sister, Princess Qumash, who died on 26 September 2011.

Career
Prince Mansour was the emir of Murabba Palace in 1943. He officially visited Cairo. Ibn Saud sent him there to support the Indian Muslim officers and men just before the Battle of El Alamein.

Then he was appointed minister of defense by Ibn Saud on 10 November 1943 when office was established. Therefore, he is the first defense minister of Saudi Arabia. Prince Muhammad and Prince Mansour accompanied Ibn Saud in the latter's meeting with the US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 14 February 1945. He also participated in Ibn Saud's meeting with British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Egypt in February 1945. Prince Mansour's term as defense minister lasted until his death in 1951, and he was replaced by his full brother Prince Mishaal who had been his deputy at the ministry.

Personal life
Prince Mansour was married and had two children, Talal and Muhdi. Prince Talal (born 1951) was raised by his uncle Prince Mutaib following the death of his father. Prince Mutaib's daughter, Princess Nouf, married Prince Talal. Prince Mansour's second wife was Princess Zahwa bint Abdulaziz bin Suleiman with whom he had a daughter, Nora, who died in infancy.

Death
Prince Mansour died of alcohol poisoning after a party hosted by then-Riyadh governor Nasser bin Abdulaziz on 2 May 1951. He was buried in Al Adl cemetery, Mecca. Upon hearing of this event, Ibn Saud threw Prince Nasser in jail. Nasser bin Abdulaziz subsequently lost his post and never returned to public life.