His Birth
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was born in 1918 in Abu Dhabi" (Al-Abed2005). He was the fourth son of the late Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan. His father ruled the Emirate of Abu Dhabi from 1922 to 1926. (Al-Abed) Sheikh Shakhboot is the older brother of Sheikh Zayed who ruled after the death of his father. During these years, Abu Dhabi was known as one of the Trucial States that included all the seven emirates of the UAE.
His Early Years
He began his early years learning the Quran with the Mulla who taught him the Islamic sciences, Arabic language, and the basic mathematics. Later his life, Zayed was sent from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain to spend his youth in the desert to learn from the wisdom and patience of the Arab Bedouins. He grew up there climbing the mountains, walking the streets, and hunting. The desert life reflected its wisdom and patience on him to form a famous man. He showed great interest in nature and its resources. He earned the respect and admiration of the people. He showed the features of an experienced commander due to his experience in the desert and its population and about people's lives.
His Early Roles
In the 1930s, Zayed was chosen to be a guide for the Prince Oil Exploration Company members at that time. (Davidson2009) He was in contact with the industry that noticeably changed his personality as well as his people. In 1946, he emerged as a representative of the governor in the area of Al Ain. Zayed was chosen because he received the confidence and the love of people as well as the admiration of his brother Shakhbout. He succeeded in holding the responsibility of ruling this city and its nine villages. He achieved great accomplishments. He organized the distribution of water resources to make sure that water is distributed equally to all to increase production. His leadership skills supported the development of Al Ain. To expand the green spot, he initiated planting trees to add the beauty to make Al Ain among the most beautiful Arab cities.
His balanced decision helped in solving many of the disputes between the local tribes as well as between some countries. His mediation between Saudi Arabia and Oman solved the problem of the three villages. His first diplomatic experience earned the respect and the admiration of all nations. When Abu Dhabi started the industrial revolution "in 1962 by exporting the first amount of crude oil" (Al-Abed2005)., Zayed determined to establish schools and hospitals and many facilities. His first visit to Britain and France in 1953 shaped the vision of a better future.
Ruling Abu Dhabi
Due to the economical difficulties in the past two decades, Sheikh Shakhboot was urged to give up power to his brother Sheikh Zayed on the sixth of August 1966. When Zayed became the ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, he carried out the huge projects as of the first weeks of his reign. He built schools, hospitals, and paved roads as well as initiated housing projects. Locally, he achieved a lot by his dedication to the idea of unity. The success in the unity of the nine villages of Al Ain paved the way to the unity of the seven emirates to make sure that oil revenue was spent on the development of the other emirates.
Ruling UAE
"In 1968 when Britain declared its intention to withdraw from the area before the end of 1971" (Al-Abed)., Sheikh Zayed and the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum called for unity between the UAE and Bahrain and Qatar. Although Qatar and Bahrain did not show the will to unite, the frustration did not stop the unity of the Arab Emirates on the second of December 1971. Without a doubt, the effort and the wisdom of Sheikh Zayed made the dream of Union a reality. Since the United Arab Emirates was ruled by Sheikh Zayed, the country witnessed rapid development in social services, health and education, communications and technology, trade and commerce in a short time to a level that can be compared to developed countries.
His Leadership
Sheikh Zayed managed to follow the progress and prosperity of the UAE and retain the culture and the heritage unaffected by any change. Zayed was armed with love and appreciation of his people. He derived his political philosophy from the profound faith in Allah, the teachings of Islam and from his honest love and loyalty to all people with no discrimination. "For the modern history to record that few leaders were able to achieve these radical changes made by His Highness Sheikh Zayed in record time." (Davidson2009) All his achievements were made not only for his people, but also for the benefit of all mankind.
His International Achievements
His dedication to union made his dream a reality on May 25, 1981, when Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan chaired the first Arab Gulf summit in Abu Dhabi to declare the establishment of the Gulf Cooperation Council including six Arab Gulf states: Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. His dream to include Qatar and Bahrain to the union has expanded to include six states. "He was also chosen by an international body based in Paris as the leading figure in 1988," (ameinfo2004) for his role in stopping the Iran-Iraq war, and his efforts to restore relations between the Arab countries after the war. He was also a promoter to the union of South and North Yemen. In 1973, Sheikh Zayed supported the Arab countries in the Arab Israeli war when he stopped exporting crude oil to the foreign countries.
Sheikh Zayed has offered gigantic amounts of aid to a number of countries in the entire world. Sheikh Zayed has announced many personal initiatives and has funded major programs in Yemen, Palestine, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, etc. In Lebanon, for example, he has initiated a program to clear hundreds of thousands of mines planted by Israel in South Lebanon after the withdrawal in 2000. In other countries like Egypt, Sheikh Zayed has offered aid for their infrastructural development program. Nowadays, you can find cities, projects, mosques, villages, universities, and hospitals are named after the late Sheikh Zayed (May Allah Bless His Soul) all over the world.
Bibliography
1. ameinfo.com, The legacy of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, from: http://www.ameinfo.com/sheikh_zayed_bin_sultan_al_nahyan/
2. Al-Abed, Ibrahim (2005), United Arab Emirates yearbook 2005, London, Trident Press
