on 24 october 1983, bandar was appointed ambassador to the united states by king fahd. during his tenure as ambassador and, before that, the king's personal envoy to washington, he dealt with five u.s. presidents, ten secretaries of state, eleven national security advisers, sixteen sessions of congress, and the media. he had extensive influence in the united states. at the pinnacle of his career, he served both "as the king's exclusive messenger and the white house's errand boy". for over three decades, he was the face of the saudi arabia lobby. the u.s. is widely seen as one of saudi arabia's most essential allies, but different members of the royal family feel different mixtures of trust and suspicion of the united states. therefore, prince bandar's intimate relationships with u.s. leaders and policy-makers are considered to be both the source of his power base in the kingdom, as well as the cause of suspicions within the royal family that he is too close to u.s. political figures.