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| Prince Muqrin with the RSAF (left) and today |
Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, 67, is the youngest
surviving son of King Abdulaziz, the first monarch of Saudi Arabia.
Last Friday, reigning monarch King Abdullah named him
the kingdom’s second deputy prime minister. As such, Prince Muqrin effectively
becomes second in the line of succession to the Saudi throne.
For rare glimpses of his human side, traits,
interests, ways of seeing and doing things and communicating, I adapted a
two-part series penned earlier this week by Fahd Amer
al-Ahmadi for al-Riyadh daily:
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I [Fahd Amer al-Ahmadi] had the privilege to work for
HRH Prince Muqrin as Director of Information in the six years he served as Governor
of Medina Province, starting in November 1999.
I discovered Prince Muqrin is not only cultured and
well-read but a walking encyclopedia.
He has a sizeable and personal library packed with
books and materials on unthinkable subjects.
I recall once being in a waiting room at the prince’s
palace right next to the library. I could make out the titles of some volumes
at one of the bookshelves – until Prince Muqrin walked in smiling.
He said, “Don’t waste your time. There’s nothing
there that would interest you. They’re all about plant pathology.” This
confirmed to me what I had heard about Prince Muqrin’s love of agronomy, in
addition to his own involvement in farming.
At times, Prince Muqrin would read articles I had
prepared for publication. He would often correct them.
On one occasion, he called me in to discuss a piece I
had published about the U.S. moon landing conspiracy theories. When I was about
to take leave, he pulled out an unlabeled video and asked me to watch it
overnight and return it to him the next morning without fail, which of course I
did.
The video was a mockumentary
called “Dark Side of the Moon.” I wished I had watched it before writing my
piece.
Prince Muqrin is multilingual and well traveled. His
knowledge of foreign countries astounded ambassadors, consuls and heads of
missions who flocked to Medina City during the hajj season.
He knew the names of streets and landmarks in
practically every other city.
He once asked the Malaysian ambassador, “Whatever
happened to that aged tree next to the Telecom Tower in Kuala Lumpur?” And to
the Singapore consul: “How is the Black Spot Program to reduce traffic
fatalities coming along?”
In addition to agronomy, Prince Muqrin adores
aviation, astrology, e-management and business automation.
After all, he studied at the Riyadh Model Institute
and then went to Britain’s Royal Air Force College in Cranwell for his 1968
degree in aeronautics with the rank of flight lieutenant.
He was named commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s
2nd Air Squadron in 1970. Four years later, he received the
equivalent of a Masters degree in aeronautics from the stateside Air Command
Staff and Command College.
By 1980, Prince Muqrin was serving with the RSAF as
head of operations and planning.
The love of flying, paragliding and air shows has
never left him. Nor has his passion for astrology. His collection of books,
manuscripts, charts and specialized periodicals on astrology is impressive
indeed. But he parted with his state of the art telescope and its accessories,
when he donated the lot to a university near his residence.
If you asked me about his most salient quality, I
would say without hesitation: his punctuality.
I have yet to meet someone as punctual. This denotes
several other qualities, including respect of deadlines, a high standard of
work ethics, appreciation of staff workers and loads of self-discipline.
He disdained, for instance, the idea of time punch
clocks for his staff. Like him,
his staff didn’t need them.
I believe Prince Muqrin is more punctual than a Swiss
watch. I don’t remember him ever being late for work or an appointment.
I once asked his driver, “How can you always make it
on time?” He said: “His Highness always allows ample time for unforeseen delays
and heavy traffic. If we were early and about to reach our destination, His
Highness would tell me to either slow down or go around the block so we arrive
on time.”
Prince Muqrin started introducing and promoting
e-government and the use of information technology to overcome the physical
bounds of traditional paperwork in Medina City, putting great emphasis on
digital equipment and on-the-job training. He would also buy e-management
magazines for staff.
He was perhaps the first in Saudi Arabia to have read
Steve Covey’s 1989 book, “The
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” before its translation into
Arabic.
Prince Muqrin believes in taking advice from experts.
I once wrote an article titled “We want a children
rights association,” in which I cited cases of violence against children. He
called me in the next morning. I thought he would upbraid me.
Instead, he told me he was summoning the chiefs of
justice, police, education and civil rights. He wanted me to call consultants
from the Children’s Hospital who could attest the violence and ask them to join
the meeting.
The gathering ended with the establishment of the
first Saudi commission for child protection.
Speaking of children, a delegation from the Society
for Disabled Children came to visit Prince Muqrin one day accompanied by some
disabled children. His eyes swelled during the encounter. When they left, he
told aides, “We need not wait for them to come to us. Henceforth, we have to
visit them regularly.”
Before the return visit became due, a royal decree in
late 2005 named Prince Muqrin chief of intelligence, a position he held until
last July.
