Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan - maker of modern UAE
In the absence of modern schools, he was educated in a traditional manner by a local Moslem preacher, who provided instruction on Islam and also in reading and writing.
In early 1926, following the death of Sheikh Sultan's successor, a brother, the Al Nahyan family selected as Ruler Sheikh Shakhbut, Sheikh Sultan's eldest son. He was to hold the post until August 1966, when he stepped down in favour of his brother Zayed.
Throughout the late 1920s and 1930s, as Sheikh Zayed grew to manhood, he travelled widely in the remoter areas of Abu Dhabi, gaining a deep understanding both of the country and of its people. In the early 1930s, he received his first official task, being assigned by his brother the task of guiding oil company personnel on the first geological surveys of Abu Dbabi's deserts.
In 1946, he was chosen to fill a vacancy as Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi, centred on Al Ain. The job involved administering both the villages of Al Ain and the adjacent desert region, enabling Sheikh Zayed to learn the techniques of government as well as deepening his knowledge of the people.
Sheikh Zayed brought to his post a firm belief in the values of consultation and consensus, and swiftly established himself as someone with a clear vision of what he wished to achieve for the people of Al Ain, taking action to revitalise the local economy and, in a foretaste of the massive afforestation programme of today, ordering the planting of trees that, now mature, have made Al Ain one of the greenest cities in Arabia.
In 1953, Sheikh Zayed made his first visit to Europe, accompanying his brother Shakhbut to Britain and France. He recalled later how impressed he had been by the schools and hospitals he visited, becoming determined that his own people should have the benefit of similar facilities Despite the lack of government resources in the pre-oil era, Sheikh Zayed began by personally funding the first modern school in Abu Dhabi and by coaxing relatives and friends to contribute towards small-scale development programmes.
In 1962, Abu Dhabi took its first major step towards development with the commencement of oil exports from offshore, quickly followed by exports from onshore the next year.
The economic hardships experienced by Abu Dhabi since the 1930s had accustomed the Ruler to a cautious frugality and the pace of development was slow. With rising revenues, and a demand from the people for progress, however, the Al Nahyan family decided that the time had come for him to step down and to be succeeded by his brother Sheikh Zayed, whose record over the previous years in Al Ain and his popularity among the people made him the obvious successor.
On 6 August 1966, Sheikh Zayed became Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with a mandate from his family to press ahead as fast as possible with the development of the Emirate.
One of Sheikh Zayed?s early steps was to increase contributions to the Trucial States Development Fund, established a few years earlier. Abu Dhabi soon became its largest donor. He recognised, too, the need to develop closer relations with the other emirates and, at the beginning of 1968, when the British announced their intention of withdrawing from the Arabian Gulf by the end of 1971, Sheikh Zayed acted rapidly to initiate moves towards establishing closer ties with the emirates.
Along with the late Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who was to become the first Vice-President of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed took the lead in calling for the establishment of a federation among the emirates. The United Arab Emirates formally emerged onto the international stage on 2nd December 1971, with Sheikh Zayed being elected by his fellow members of the Supreme Council of Rulers as the country's first President, a post to which he was re-elected at successive five year intervals.
The new state came into being at a time of political turmoil in the region. A couple of days earlier, Iran had seized the islands of Greater and Lesser Tunb, part of Ra's al-Khaimah, and had landed troops on Abu Musa, part of Sharjah.
Foreign observers, who lacked an understanding of the importance of a common history and heritage in bringing together the people of the UAE, predicted that the new state would survive only with difficulty.
Better informed, Sheikh Zayed was naturally more optimistic, and, looking back a quarter of a century later, he noted that "our experiment in federation, in the first instance, arose from a desire to increase the ties that bind us, as well as from the conviction of all that we were part of one family, and that we must gather together under one leadership? Our proximity to each other and the ties of blood relationship between us are factors which led us to believe that we must establish a federation that should compensate for the disunity and fragmentation that earlier prevailed." During his years in Al Ain, Sheikh Zayed had developed a vision of how the country should progress, and, from 1966 onwards, he devoted over three and a half decades to making that vision a reality.
One foundation of his philosophy as a leader and statesman is that the resources of the country should be fully used to the benefit of the people. In particular, he believed that wealth was not simply a means unto itself, but, rather, a tool to facilitate the development of what he believed to be the real wealth of the country ? its people, and, in particular, the younger generation.
Within this framework, Sheikh Zayed believed that all of the country's citizens have a role to play in its development.
Indeed he defined it not simply as a right, but as a duty.
Both men and women, he believed, should play their part, and, through his support for the General Women's Union, led by his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, he ensured that the women of the UAE were provided with everything that was necessary to enable them to play a full part of the life of the country, in accordance with Islamic tradition.
Sheikh Zayed also believed that the younger generation, those who have enjoyed the full fruits of the UAE's development, have a responsibility to take up the burden once carried by their parents.
In this sphere, as in other areas, Sheikh Zayed was concerned about the possible adverse impact upon the younger generation of the easy life they enjoy and one key feature of his strategy of government, therefore, was the encouragement of initiatives designed to conserve and cherish features of the traditional culture of the people. In his view, it was of crucial importance that the lessons and heritage of the past are not forgotten, since they provided the foundation upon which real progress can be achieved.
He was an early supporter of studies of the UAE's archaeology, showing interest in the first excavations in 1959, and continuing to show an interest in the latest discoveries until his death.
He was, too, an early supporter of the conservation of the country's environment and wildlife, long before conservation became fashionable, believing that the strength of character of the Emirati people derives, in part, from the struggle that they were obliged to wage in order to survive in the harsh and arid local environment. He ensured that conservation of wildlife and the environment became a key part of government policy and stimulated and personally supervised a massive programme of afforestation that has now seen over 150 million trees planted.
As in other areas of national life, Sheikh Zayed made it clear that conservation is not simply the task of government. Despite the creation of official institutions like the Federal Environment Agency and Abu Dhabi's Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, he stressed that there was also a role both for the individual and for non-governmental organisations, both of citizens and expatriates.
Underpinning this approach was his belief that society can only develop and flourish if all of its members acknowledge their responsibilities, in all areas of national life.
As part of this process, he established the National Consultative Council of Abu Dhabi in 1970, to provide a forum through which people could become involved with Government, and also prompted the creation of the Federal National Council for the whole UAE in 1971.
This was, he felt, the most appropriate form of representative democracy for the country, in accordance with its culture and traditions. This belief was founded on his devout religious faith. " Our system of government does not derive its authority from man, but is enshrined in our religion, and is based on God's book, the Holy Quran. What need have we of what others have conjured up? Its teachings are eternal and complete, while the systems conjured up by man are transitory and incomplete," he commented to an interviewer.
Sheikh Zayed imbibed the principles of Islam in his childhood, and held firmly to them throughout his life. In particular, he felt that Islam was best characterised by its principles of tolerance, mercy and forgiveness, and in his latter years was a confirmed and dedicated opponent of those who pervert Islam in an attempt to justify intolerance and violence. Such people, he felt, were apostates who had abandoned the basic precepts of Islam.
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