[“Archive File” is a series published by “Jadaliyya” in Arabic and English in collaboration with the Lebanese newspaper As‑Safir. The files highlight iconic figures who left a profound impact on the political and cultural landscape of the Arab world.]
Name: Abdullah
Surname: Al‑Turaiki
Father’s Name: Hamoud
Mother’s Name: Lulu’a
Date of Birth: 1919
Date of Death: 1997
Nationality: Saudi
Place of Birth: Al‑Zulfi
Category: Political figure
Profession: Minister
Abdullah Al‑Turaiki
Saudi national.
Born on 19 March 1919 in the town of Al‑Zulfi, Saudi Arabia.
Died in Cairo on 7 September 1997 and was buried in Riyadh.
His first wife: Eleanor Nicholas (American).
His second wife: Maha Jumblatt (Lebanese).
He moved to Kuwait in 1924 and enrolled in Al‑Ahmadiyya Primary School, where he remained for five years.
In 1929, he traveled to India with a merchant and worked with him for a period before receiving a scholarship to study in Egypt.
He traveled to Cairo in 1933, completed secondary school in 1938, and then enrolled in Fouad I University in 1939, where he studied chemistry.
He won a scholarship to study in the United States and joined the University of Texas, where he earned a master’s degree in geology with a minor in petroleum engineering. His thesis was titled “The Geology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, and he graduated in 1947.
After graduation, he trained at the Texaco Company in California between 1945 and 1948, then returned to Saudi Arabia.
He worked as an official responsible for auditing the government’s oil‑revenue accounts with ARAMCO in Dhahran, where he uncovered practices that harmed Saudi government interests. This later drove him to push for reforms after being appointed Director‑General of Oil and Mineral Affairs in 1954—a position that placed him in direct conflict with ARAMCO. His exposure of oil‑company misconduct led these companies to wage media campaigns against him.
The 1956 Tripartite Aggression against Egypt reinforced his belief that Arab oil was an effective weapon. He informed ARAMCO of this view. King Saud ordered the suspension of Saudi oil supplies to Britain and France, which earned Al‑Turaiki a distinguished standing across the Arab world.
In 1959, he headed the Saudi delegation to the Arab Oil Council.
In 1960 and 1961, he was appointed Minister of Petroleum, becoming the first Minister of Petroleum in the Kingdom’s history. In this capacity, he worked alongside Venezuelan Oil Minister Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo to establish OPEC, with the aim of defending the interests of oil‑producing and exporting countries against foreign companies and channeling petroleum revenues toward development programs in producing states.
Between 1965 and 1970, he published the magazine “Arab Oil”, which carried the slogan “Arab Oil for the Arabs.”
He was dismissed from his position due to pressure from the United States, following his persistent challenges to ARAMCO, which operated Saudi Arabia’s oil fields.
He lived in Beirut from 1963 to 1980, then moved to Cairo in 1991, where he settled with his wife and daughter Haya. He worked as an oil consultant for several Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates.
Some of his admirers established the “Abdullah Al‑Turaiki Endowment”, managed by the Center for Arab Unity Studies. Part of the endowment’s proceeds was used to publish his complete works and to establish a prize in his name, first awarded to Dr. Youssef Sayigh on 19 March 2000.
“Unforgettable Positions of Al‑Turaiki in Algeria Before the June 1967 War”
(Quoted from Abdulrahman Munif, a friend of Al‑Turaiki, As‑Safir, 18 September 1997)
At the Arab Socialists’ Conference held in late May 1967, the central slogan he advanced was:
“Boycott the West and America, and use oil as a weapon in the battle.”
He consistently advocated for optimal use of Arab oil—whether within the producing country itself or at the regional level—by setting production ceilings aligned with development needs. He warned that rapid and exploitative extraction driven by the interests of monopolistic companies and their governments would squander this resource.
He emphasized adopting a national policy that prioritized domestic conditions first, then Arab interests.
Among his notable statements:
“The West is ready to export the industry of hunger to our societies.”
(Al‑Qabas, 1 January 2000)