King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, ruler of Saudi Arabia, was named Cultural Personality of the year by the Sheikh Zayed 2014 Book Award this week.
The announcement was made at a press conference held at the Emirates Palace, in the presence of Mohammad Khalaf Al-Mazroui, adviser for Cultural and Heritage Affairs at the court of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and member of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award Board of Trustees, in addition to all other members of the Board.
Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al-Nahyan said that “the winning of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, is a supreme honour for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. His Majesty’s impressive achievements have been witnessed over decades and he still continues to contribute as generously as he always has to the Arab and Islamic worlds.”
Secretary General of the Sheikh Zayed Book Award, Ali Bin Tamim, added that “as much as the award takes pride in bearing the name of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the father of the United Arab Emirates and the leader of its development, we are exceptionally honoured to have the custodian of the two holy mosques on the list of our winners”.
Bin Tamim explained that the Award’s Scientific Committee and its Board of Trustees has decided that the prize for 2014 be awarded to King Abdullah in view of his numerous achievements over decades. The achievements cited by the board included the establishment of King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue to enable dialogue among followers of different religions and cultures around the world; and the establishment of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology.
The Sheikh Zayed Book Award’s Cultural Personality of the Year honours a prominent Arab or international figure (or organisation) who has contributed to the advancement of the Arabic culture, embodies tolerance in his or her work, and promotes peaceful coexistence.
The Award’s eighth session collected a ground breaking number of nominations amounting to more than 1,385 across the Award’s nine categories -- a growth rate of 12 percent over last year’s record.
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