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President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan 
The Man and the President by Katie Nelson Ph.D.
Sheikh Zayed, the grandson of Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa al Nahyan
who ruled the Emirate of Abu Dhabi from 1855 to 1909, the longest reign in the
Emirate's history is one of the Arab world's longest serving Presidents. He has played a leading role in the governing of the UAE, and of his own Emirate, Abu Dhabi, for nearly half a century. At one time Abu Dhabi's economy was built upon the precarious trades of fishing and pearl diving, together with local agriculture at the inland oasis of Al Ain. The collapse of the worldwide market for wild pearls caused enormous hardship throughout the Gulf region, and Abu Dhabi did not escape the far-reaching economic impact of this social and financial catastrophe. Sheikh Zayed's family suffered along with their people, experiencing hardships and deprivation those members of the UAE's young generation find difficult to imagine today. Virtually all the supporting facilities that everyone takes for granted in the modern day Emirates were lacking. When Sheikh Zayed was growing up there was not a single school in the Trucial States. Like his fellows, he received only a basic instruction in the principles of Islam from the local cleric or religious teacher. His strong thirst for knowledge led him into the desert, where he learnt a great deal from Bedouin tribesmen about the lives and heritage of his people. One of his greatest early tasks, and now a life-long interest, was how best to manage the supply and distribution of water. Water: The essential ingredient for life. Sheikh Zayed targeted ancient falajs, water channels that had fallen into disrepair around Al Ain as a first step towards improving the lives of the people living within the region. He organised the repair of leaking channels and had them cleaned where they had become blocked. He had new ones constructed, bringing fresh water to the communities and agricultural projects. This action of getting straight to the root of the problem, and taking decisive action to deal with it, had an immediate impact and epitomized a style of leadership that has brought the UAE to its present highly developed and prosperous condition. It was also characteristic that, having taken care of the practical aspects of providing a water supply, Sheikh Zayed also considered how to maximise the return from the falaj project, taking into account aesthetic and social considerations. He arranged for ornamental trees to be planted throughout Al Ain, trees that have today now grown to maturity and he made city one of the greenest in the whole of Arabia. This determination to conserve the environment has been an enduring feature of Sheikh Zayed's inspirational leadership. The Al Ain tree planting at that time was also the beginning of one of the largest afforestation programmes ever undertaken in Arabia. What began in Al Ain has since been extended throughout the UAE. His personal knowledge of the desert and its people was a crucial factor in the success of this work, which was to lead, eventually, to the discovery of one of the world's largest oil reservoirs. The fascination he had with exploring the environment in which he lived stood him in good stead when he was appointed as a guide to the first oil exploration team to commence preliminary surface surveys in Abu Dhabi in the early 1930s. His appointment in 1946 as Governor in the oasis of Al Ain was greeted with widespread approval by local inhabitants who were already familiar with his commitment to improving the lives of his people. At that time Al Ain was a cluster of small villages, a contrast to the thriving place it is today. Edward Henderson, who represented one of the oil companies at that time, recalled the impression that the young Zayed made upon him when the two men met in Al Ain. "He was then around thirty years old," Henderson wrote. "He was handsome, with humorous and intelligent eyes, of presence and bearing, simply dressed and clearly a man of action and resolution. Although he was young, and had only been in charge of the Abu Dhabi sector of the oasis and its surrounding deserts for some two years, he was experienced in the politics of the region and was already by far the most prominent personality in the area. He had a sure touch with the Bedouin." |
Sheikh Zayed is truly one of the world greatest rulers; environmentalist; a philanthropist; an and a beloved leader.
In 1953 Sheikh Zayed visited Europe in the company of his brother. It was a visit that made a lasting impression and he was determined to bring to his own people the facilities of modern schools, hospitals and other aspects of social infrastructure that he so admired in Europe. As Governor he returned to his administrative headquarters in Al Ain, which remained his base for twenty years, and he set about doing whatever was possible despite the limited resources available to him. He made rapid and impressive progress surprising many people with what was possible and all the time proving to himself that his approach to stimulating development by helping people to help themselves was correct. Sheikh Zayed was determined to use the Emirate's newly found oil wealth in the service of the people. Revenues from oil exports provided the means to extend the lessons learned on a local scale in Al Ain, and to finance development of the Emirate as a whole. Given his wide experience, his qualities of leadership, his administrative skills, and the high regard, in which local people held him, he was a natural choice to tackle the challenges ahead. On August 6 1966 the Al Nahyan family met and decided that he should replace his brother as Ruler, for it is tradition that the best man does the job. Since the foundation of the United Arab Emirates it has been the Emirates good fortune to have been guided by this man. President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was first elected to the post by his peers on the Supreme Council of Rulers at the creation of the State, and subsequently re-elected unanimously at successive five year intervals. Sheikh Zayed believed that the Gulf States had more to gain from working together in harmony than in competition with one another. When Britain announced, in 1968, its intention to withdraw from the Gulf by the end of 1971, Sheikh Zayed was ready to act. In July 1971, the United Arab Emirates was formed, with Sheikh Zayed being elected the first President. When the flag of the UAE was raised on December 2 1971 it marked a new era for the seven Emirates which had decided to join together as a political and economic entity. Twenty-eight years have now passed since that first National Day, and the UAE has been utterly transformed to the modern country that it is today. It is on the domestic scene that Sheikh Zayed has had his greatest impact, he has also emerged as a vocal defender of the rights of the oppressed and downtrodden overseas. During the course of the tragic conflict in Bosnia he devoted considerable attention to, acting as a vocal, and often angry, critic of an international community that, in his view, had stood by and permitted the Moslem civilians of that country to be slaughtered in a process that resembles genocide. Sheikh Zayed warned the major powers, "If you do not support justice, the day will come when your strength too will fade and you will disappear as other once powerful civilisations disappeared." "Man is obliged to take action against injustice," he said. "Injustice against humanity is unacceptable. Silence over the injustices in Bosnia could lead to the spreading of injustice elsewhere in the world," he warned. The UAE is a very generous society, Sheikh Zayed responds spontaneously to humanitarian crises around the world. In particular Kosovo today. The refugees there have attracted a wave of sympathy from this small country's residents and government in a most remarkable flood of aid. Large numbers of helicopters and troops were the first to be sent to Albania; the UAE manned and built a one-km air strip and airport in 10 days to serve the airlines delivering relief supplies; set up a refugee camp; water was flown in and tons of practical aid was sent. Living in the safe and wealthy haven of the UAE it is important to remember those who live in poverty and political turmoil. Sheikh Zayed and his people do. Sheikh Zayed's, and his people's generosity is a compliment to their conscience and to their commitment to the rest of the world. His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Man of the Century?
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