{"record":{"aliases":[],"appointmentIds":["saudi-arabia-9a8a8523d6a0f6"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/saudi-arabia-person-abdullah-al-khayyal-c3f907b392/","countrySlug":"saudi-arabia","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/saudi-arabia-person-abdullah-al-khayyal-c3f907b392/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Abdullah al-Khayyal represented Saudi Arabia in Washington from 1954 to 1964. His negotiations concerned the practical terms of American support for the kingdom's armed forces and infrastructure. In October 1955 he asked Secretary of State John Foster Dulles for arms, assistance for ports and railways, and reconsideration of a tank purchase. He pressed for aid with fewer conditions, while Dulles explained the legal and congressional restrictions on American grants.","Al-Khayyal also carried messages between King Saud and President John F. Kennedy. At their July 1961 meeting, he delivered the king's response to Kennedy's proposals on the Arab–Israeli dispute and asked for firm answers about military deliveries before returning home. Kennedy directed his officials to clarify what could be supplied. The two men recalled their earlier encounters during Prince Faisal's hospitalization in New York and after Kennedy's Senate speech supporting negotiations for Algerian independence."],"id":"saudi-arabia:saudi-arabia-person-abdullah-al-khayyal","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-c3f907b392e6447b7bf4.html","name":"Abdullah Al-Khayyal","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["embassy-roster","frus-1955"],["frus-1961"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-c3f907b392e6447b7bf4.html","relatedEvents":[{"basis":"tenure-overlap","country":"Saudi Arabia","date":"1957-02-08","description":"King Saud and President Eisenhower announce plans to extend American use of Dhahran airfield and strengthen Saudi forces. The arrangement links military assistance to continued access to a Saudi owned installation.","id":"saudi-dhahran-1957","note":"Named people and the recorded mission tenure provide the connection; overlap does not establish personal participation.","sourceUrls":["https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/joint-statement-following-discussions-with-king-saud-saudi-arabia","https://www.army.mil/article-amp/127106/a_lasting_legacy_the_dhahran_airfield_and_civil_air_terminal"],"title":"Access to Dhahran is renewed","url":"Saudi-Arabia.html#history-saudi-dhahran-1957"}],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"c0041a7b168c8b7b","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":null,"id":"embassy-roster","locator":"Abdullah Al-Khayyal, 1954–1964","publisher":"Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington","title":"Former Ambassadors","type":"official-biography","url":"https://us.saudiembassy.sa/en/Embassy/Pages/FormerAmbassadors.aspx"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1955-10-05","id":"frus-1955","locator":"FRUS 1955–1957, XIII, document 180","publisher":"U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian","title":"Memorandum of a Conversation: Renewed Saudi Arabian Request for Military and Economic Assistance","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v13/d180"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"1961-07-07","id":"frus-1961","locator":"FRUS 1961–1963, XVII, document 81","publisher":"U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian","title":"Meeting between the President and the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia","type":"primary-record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v17/d81"},{"accessedOn":"","date":"Accessed 23 October 2026","id":"mission-cc0e325639a5ae1955f0","locator":"Al-Khayyal identified as Saudi ambassador from 3 August 1955. Conflicts with Saudi embassy roster beginning in 1954; precise basis of this date not specified.","publisher":"","title":"FRUS 1955–1957, volume XIII — persons","type":"Mission record","url":"https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1955-57v13/persons"}],"topics":["military assistance","Arab–Israeli diplomacy","Algerian independence"]},"schemaVersion":1}