{"record":{"aliases":["Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud"],"appointmentIds":["saudi-arabia-c5a4b9cfbde401"],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/saudi-arabia-person-bandar-bin-sultan-960db14bf1/","countrySlug":"saudi-arabia","entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/saudi-arabia-person-bandar-bin-sultan-960db14bf1/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Prince Bandar bin Sultan entered diplomacy through military aviation. Trained at Britain's Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, he became a Saudi fighter pilot and commander. He helped make the Saudi case in Washington for F-15 aircraft in 1978 and AWACS surveillance aircraft in 1981, then became defense attaché. His ambassadorship lasted from 1983 to 2005.","Bandar developed working relationships across successive American administrations. His diplomacy supported cooperation against Soviet forces in Afghanistan, the campaign to expel Iraq from Kuwait, and later efforts against al-Qaeda. His embassy also cultivated Congress: during the Iran–Iraq war, he and his assistant Adel al-Jubeir helped arrange visits that exposed senators to the dangers facing Gulf shipping. This work accompanied the debate over placing Kuwaiti tankers under American protection.","His arms dealings also attracted sustained scrutiny. In 2007, the BBC and Guardian reported that payments connected with the British al-Yamamah arms agreement had reached accounts he controlled. Bandar denied receiving improper commissions; BAE Systems also denied wrongdoing. Britain had halted its investigation on national security grounds. In a separate American case, BAE pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiracy involving false statements and export control violations and paid a $400 million fine; that corporate conviction was not a conviction of Bandar.","After leaving Washington, Bandar became secretary-general of Saudi Arabia's National Security Council and, in 2012, head of foreign intelligence. His daughter Reema later followed him as ambassador to the United States."],"id":"saudi-arabia:saudi-arabia-person-bandar-bin-sultan","identifiers":{},"legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-960db14bf1b57193b3c3.html","name":"Bandar bin Sultan Al-Saud","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["embassy-bio"],["brookings","ncusar"],["abc-bae","doj-bae"],["embassy-bio","oca-profile"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-960db14bf1b57193b3c3.html","relatedEvents":[{"basis":"tenure-overlap","country":"Saudi Arabia","date":"1990–1991","description":"After Iraq invades Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United States agree to deploy U.S. forces to the kingdom. President George H. W. Bush visits in November 1990 as an international coalition assembles; the following year it expels Iraqi forces from Kuwait.","id":"saudi-arabia-desert-shield-1990","note":"Named people and the recorded mission tenure provide the connection; overlap does not establish personal participation.","sourceUrls":["https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/gulf-war","https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/travels/president/saudi-arabia"],"title":"A coalition in the Gulf","url":"Saudi-Arabia.html#history-saudi-arabia-desert-shield-1990"}],"relatedPeople":[{"certainty":"documented","name":"Reema Bandar Al-Saud","note":"Reema is Bandar's daughter.","profileUrl":"diplomat-5b0e94469c4b360f9603.html","sourceIds":["oca-profile"],"targetId":"saudi-arabia:saudi-arabia-person-reema-bandar","type":"parent_of"},{"certainty":"documented","name":"Adel Al-Jubeir","note":"Jubeir served as Bandar's special assistant; Anthony describes Bandar as a teacher in diplomatic practice.","profileUrl":"diplomat-d1b49c9e0b6677465eec.html","sourceIds":["ncusar"],"targetId":"saudi-arabia:saudi-arabia-person-adel-al-jubeir","type":"mentor_of"}],"relationships":[{"certainty":"documented","note":"Reema is Bandar's daughter.","sourceIds":["oca-profile"],"targetId":"saudi-arabia:saudi-arabia-person-reema-bandar","type":"parent_of"},{"certainty":"documented","note":"Jubeir served as Bandar's special assistant; Anthony describes Bandar as a teacher in diplomatic practice.","sourceIds":["ncusar"],"targetId":"saudi-arabia:saudi-arabia-person-adel-al-jubeir","type":"mentor_of"}],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-10-28","revision":"3726c514cca8ecb6","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":null,"id":"embassy-bio","locator":"Individual biographical section","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":"2011-12-05","id":"ncusar","locator":"John Duke Anthony, pages 3–4 and 15","publisher":"National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations","title":"Saudi Arabian Ambassadors to America in Context","type":"scholarship","url":"https://ncusar.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/2011-12-05-Saudi-Arabia-Ambassadors-Context.pdf"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2020-07-17","id":"oca-profile","locator":"Career profile","publisher":"Olympic Council of Asia","title":"IOC Member Profile: HRH Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud","type":"official-biography","url":"https://oca.asia/news/962-ioc-member-profile-hrh-princess-reema-bint-bandar-bin-sultan-bin-abdulaziz-al-saud.html"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2012-07-23","id":"brookings","locator":"Bruce Riedel, opening career assessment","publisher":"Brookings Institution","title":"The Return of Prince Bandar: Saudi's New Spy Chief","type":"scholarship","url":"https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-return-of-prince-bandar-saudis-new-spy-chief/"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2007-06-08","id":"abc-bae","locator":"Report and responses","publisher":"ABC News / AFP","title":"British arms company denies bribing Saudi prince","type":"contemporary-report","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-06-08/british-arms-company-denies-bribing-saudi-prince/62378"},{"accessedOn":"2026-10-28","date":"2010-03-01","id":"doj-bae","locator":"Plea and sentencing announcement","publisher":"U.S. Department of Justice","title":"BAE Systems PLC Pleads Guilty and Ordered to Pay $400 Million Criminal Fine","type":"primary-record","url":"https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/bae-systems-plc-pleads-guilty-and-ordered-pay-400-million-criminal-fine"}],"topics":["military aviation","arms sales","Gulf War","intelligence","congressional relations"]},"schemaVersion":1}