Saudi Arabia under Ibn Saud : economic and financial foundations of the state / J.E. Peterson

Includes bibliographical references (pages 268-277) and index

Saudi Arabia in the twentieth century -- Part I. Finances and oil before World War II -- The organization of state finances -- The 1933 oil concession and oil affairs to World War II -- Early administrative arrangements -- Part II. The impact of World War II -- British wartime assistance and the emergence of Anglo-American rivalry -- The beginnings of the US-Saudi partnership -- Administrative developments -- Part III. Postwar prosperity and economic development -- Oil emerges as the financial engine -- Postwar stringencies and the path for development (1945-9) -- The broad remit of the postwar Ministry of Finance -- The emergence of prosperity (1950-4)

At its founding in 1932, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was characterized by tribal warfare, political instability, chronic financial shortages and economic crises. As a desert chieftain, Abd al-Aziz Ibn Saud, the ruler and king until 1953, had the skills, the cunning and the power to control the tribes and bring peace to this realm. But financial and economic matters were not his forte and these he left mostly to a single individual, Abdullah al-Sulayman al-Hamdan. He was entrusted with nearly all of the country's early financial dealings and administrative development. This book examines the role of the Ministry of Finance and its minister, Abdullah al-Sulayman, in holding the country together financially and administratively until the promise of substantial oil income was realized a few years after the end of World War II