Abdullah al-Tariki

Abdullah ibn Hamoud al-Tariki ( Arabic: عبدالله الطريقي ) was a Saudi politician and government official. He was the first Saudi oil minister appointed by King Saud, and co-founder of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) along with Venezuelan Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo. Tariki was born in 1918 in Al Zulfi (Arabic: الزلفي‎), a Saudi Arabian town which is located about 300 kilometers north of the capital city of Riyadh. He was the son of a camel owner who organized caravans between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Tariki received his early education in Kuwait and in Cairo. He became one of the first American-educated Saudis, and he is believed to be the first Saudi trained in both chemistry and geology. He graduated from the...