Saudi King appoints new chief of intelligence

Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has issued a royal decree appointing Prince Khalid Bin Bandar as head of Intelligence and Prince Bandar Bin Sultan as adviser and special envoy of the king with the rank of a minister, in addition to his post as secretary-general of the National Security Council.

Prince Khaled Bin Bandar bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud is the third son of Prince Bandar bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

Prince Khaled started his military career in the first battalion of the Fourth Armoured Brigade then worked as operations officer in the Armoured Forces Command and as an assistant to the commander of the Armoured Corps for two years before being promoted to the rank of Major General. He was appointed commander of the Armoured Corps and then deputy commander of the ground forces.

In 2011, a royal decree was issued promoting him to the rank of lieutenant commander and chief of the Saudi Royal Land Forces (SALF) and in February 14, 2013, he was appointed by royal decree as Emir of Riyadh region. In 2014 he became deputy secretary of defence.

Prince Khalid participated in preliminary training for armed officers in the Kingdom and in advanced trainings in the United States. He also participated in several field exercises and joint cooperation committees.

Prince Khalid participated in the liberation of Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm and was headed the Russian-Saudi joint military committee.