Editing Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (section)

==Initial career==
[[File:Bandr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.jpg|thumbnail|Prince Bandar c. 1980s|180px]]
Bandar joined the Royal Saudi Air Force, and rose to the rank of [[lieutenant colonel]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Laham |first=Nicholas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kqve9cTLfGcC&pg=PA87 |title=Selling AWACS to Saudi Arabia: The Reagan Administration and the Balancing of America's Competing Interests in the Middle East |publisher=Praeger |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-275-97563-0 |location=Westport, CT; London |page=90}}</ref> His diplomatic career began in 1978 when he was appointed the [[Khalid of Saudi Arabia|King Khalid]]'s personal envoy. He successfully lobbied the [[United States Congress]] to approve the sale of [[F-15 Eagle|F-15s]] to Saudi Arabia. In the Oval Office, President Carter advised him to win the support of California governor [[Ronald Reagan]]. He did and in exchange helped Carter win the support of [[South Dakota]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[United States Senate|Senator]] [[James Abourezk]] for the Panama Canal treaty. Crown Prince Fahd made Bandar an emissary to Carter and granted him permission to act independently of the Saudi-U.S. ambassador.<ref name="New Yorker"/>

In 1982, [[King Fahd]] made him the military attache at the Saudi Embassy, a move which could have ended his diplomatic career. However, in 1983, Fahd appointed Bandar as Saudi Ambassador to the United States.<ref name="New Yorker"/>