RIYADH — Former Eastern Province Emir Prince Mohammed bin Fahd passed away. He was 75. Funeral prayer will be offered for him after Asr prayer on Wednesday at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh, the Royal Court said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. Born in Riyadh in 1950, Prince Mohammed bin Fahd is the second son of King Fahd. He received his school education from the Capital Model Institute Prince Mohammed bin Fahd obtained a bachelor's degree in economics and political sciences from the University of California, Santa Barbara. After graduation, he worked in the private sector but was gradually introduced to multiple public assignments. During the early 1970s he was a major stakeholder of the Al Bilad conglomerate. Then he was appointed assistant deputy minister of interior. In 1985, he was named emir of the Eastern Province, and his tenure ended in 2013. In 1999, he established the Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Foundation for Humanitarian Development, which has launched various humanitarian projects. He was the founder and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the foundation, which established the SHIFAA fund, which helps people get medical treatment. The foundation was established to achieve humanitarian goals at the local and global levels. These goals are represented in finding creative solutions to the challenges facing societies. The late Prince launched various initiatives and programs to serve different segments of society and contribute to humanitarian development issues inside and outside Saudi Arabia. These included the Prince Mohammed bin Fahd Program for Youth Development, which won the Dubai/United Nations World Award for Best Practices in Improving Living Conditions in 2002, as well as the Sharjah Award for Voluntary Work in 2007. Prince Mohammed bin Fahd also launched a private university in the Eastern Province, called Prince Mohammed University. In 2016, Prince Mohammed bin Fahd received an honorary doctorate of public service from the University of Central Florida in the United States.
