The Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University (LISD) hosted a visit by H.R.H. Prince Turki al Faisal al Saud in November 2024. H.R.H. Prince Turki gave a public address and offered an extensive conversation with Founding Director Wolfgang Danspeckgruber. Prince Turki also met with a select group of students who participate in Danspeckgruber’s in-house seminars in two unique meetings: a private tea, and an extraordinary Sunday meeting of the Program on Religion, Diplomacy, and International Relations (PORDIR). Prince Turki Al Faisal has been involved in PORDIR since 2007 and has also been a regular participant in seminars and colloquia of the LISD Project on Afghanistan and the Region. 

Saturday’s private tea permitted a wide-ranging discussion on geopolitics and regional affairs from the vantage point of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in anticipation of the incoming Trump Administration. During the standing-room only seminar on Sunday, Prince Turki, PORDIR fellows, and distinguished guests convened to reflect on the meaning of personal faith, organized religion, and different forms of diplomacy in facing the challenges of contemporary politics and religion for women and younger generations.

“Getting to hear from and speak with H.R.H. Prince Turki al Faisal was simultaneously a surreal experience and an inspiring interaction. The issues he discussed were innately human, and it was refreshing to hear his take on critical issues, including advocacy for actionable steps to gaining a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Furthermore, his focus on rectifying the historic gender gap was both a very necessary and memorable part of his remarks as he seems to be following in his mother's legacy [of education]” noted Abdullah Rizvi ’27. 

Ila Prabuhram ’27 said that "the meeting with H.R.H. Prince Turki al Faisal was a transformative and enlightening geopolitical discussion on Saudi Arabia's role in our current state of affairs. I heard informative remarks on U.S.-Arab relations, the interplay between religion, spirituality, and diplomacy, Saudi Arabia's role in the global economy and the oil market. Prince Turki was truly knowledgeable, kind, and he willingly answered questions related to BRICS, religious reconciliation in global conflicts, international cooperation mechanisms, and more. I'm grateful to both Prince Turki al Faisal and the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination for providing such a unique and impactful opportunity," stated Prabuhram. 

“The mutual candor and curiosity marked a remarkable and remarkably hopeful seminar. Regardless of how challenging things may be, knowledge and understanding, mutual respect and honest convictions are fundamental elements of a hopeful future,” concluded Danspeckgruber.

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H.R.H. Prince Turki al Faisal al Saud is a founder and trustee of the King Faisal Foundation, as well as the Chairman of the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies.  He is a trustee of the Oxford Islamic Center at Oxford University and the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS) at Georgetown University.  Prince Turki is also a member of the Board of Advisors of the Munich Security Conference. Prince Turki al Faisal was Ambassador to the United States of America from 2005-2007. Prior to that, he was Ambassador to the Court of Saint James’s in London and to the Republic of Ireland. From 1977 to 2001, he served as the Director General of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s main foreign intelligence service. He was appointed an Advisor in the Royal Court in 1973.

Prince Turki has a deep connection to Princeton – he was sent to learn English at the Hun School and then graduated from the Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey in 1963.  He studied at Princeton University and earned an undergraduate degree at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.  Prince Turki has received an honorary Doctorate in Law from the University of Ulster in Ireland, and an honorary PhD in international politics from the University of Hankuk in Korea. Prince Turki recently authored The Afghanistan File (together with Michael Field).

Prince Turki has been co-chair of the C100 Group, affiliated with the World Economic Forum since 2003. He delivered the keynote at the National Council on the U.S.-Arab Relations 40^th Anniversary Commemoration in 2023.  

Prince Turki is the son of H.R.H. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and H.R.H. Princess Effat bint Mohammad al Thunayan. ‘Queen Iffat’, his mother, initiated Saudi Arabia’s first private school for women in 1955 and founded the first women’s high school in Riyadh in 1960. In 1999, Queen Iffat established Effat University, Saudi Arabia’s first private, non-profit women’s college.

H.R.H. Prince Turki al Faisal is married to H.R.H. Princess Nouf bint Fahd and has six children and several grandchildren. His son Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al Saud currently serves as the Kingdom’s Minister of Sports.