A Personal Mission Statement

As I was growing up, I was the kind of child, who questioned everything and everyone around her. For years I sought to unlock what I saw as the mysteries of life but hard as I tried those secrets remained tight lipped.

When I became a mother some things, like my responsibilities, became clear but I still had no answers to the many pressing questions that still haunted me. Essentially, I felt I wanted to make a difference but I didn’t know how and where to start.

As I reached the golden age of 40 it was as if I had woken from a long sleep. Everything became crystal clear. I knew what I had to do. I had to embark on a journey of reform, first in my personal life and then in my public life.

The first step was to leave an unhappy marriage and take full responsibility for my five children. Once I experienced reform in my private life, I wanted to see it everywhere. I especially wanted to see it in my country, Saudi Arabia, whose problems I was no longer afraid to highlight.

But my country was only a starting point and increasingly I felt the need to promote respect and freedoms within all societies and between genders.

My message is global. I have taken upon myself this responsibility and I invite you to join me on this momentous journey. My mission is to promote peace, prosperity and dignity, not war. We live in an age of cynicism where no one feels they can make a difference. It’s time we all stood up to our responsibilities, pooled our efforts together and pushed for a better, more equitable world.

This quest needs to be undertaken with wisdom and with a faith that we can make a difference. For the sake of our future generations, we must fear no one but God in our effort to bring prosperity, transparency, respect, equality and freedom.

Biography

Princess Basmah Bint Saud Bin Abdulaziz is the granddaughter of King Abdulaziz (1876-1953) reigned 1932 – 1953 founder of the modern Saudi state and the 115th daughter of his son King Saud (1902–1969); reigned 1953–1964. The state of Saudi Arabia was established in 1932 after Princess Basmah’s father and grandfather succeeded in uniting the disparate and warring tribes that populated the deserts of Arabia.

King Saud was instrumental in bringing Saudi Arabia to the modern age. He built up the infrastructure of the country inaugurating the first roads, airports, schools and universities. In 1962 he succeeded in abolishing slavery which was still rife in the kingdom and worked hard to draft a Constitution. However before he could do that he was overthrown by his brother Prince Faisal, later King Faisal (reigned 1964-1975). History was rewritten and all achievements previously attributed to King Saud were transferred to King Faisal.

King Saud was portrayed as a wasteful King who mismanaged his country’s finances and all mention of him in The Official History of Saudi Arabia was crossed out. His daughter Princess Basmah has taken over the mantle of reform from her father and is a tireless advocate of peaceful but essential reform in the Kingdom and elsewhere.

"My mission is to promote peace, prosperity and dignity, not war"

HRH Princess Basmah Bint Saud