Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (Arabic: زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان‎)‎, (1918 – 2 November 2004), the principal architect and founder of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was the ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE for over 30 years (1971–2004).

Zayed was the youngest son of Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, the traditional ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1922 to 1926. He was named after his famous grandfather, Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, who ruled the emirate from 1855 to 1909. On August 6, 1966 he succeeded his brother, Sheikh Shakhbut Bin-Sultan Al Nahyan, as emir of Abu Dhabi after the latter was deposed in a bloodless palace coup. Zayed was first appointed (by the other six Sheikhs on the Supreme Council) to the presidency of the UAE in 1971 and was reappointed on four further occasions: 1976, 1981, 1986, and 1991. He was considered a relatively liberal ruler, and permitted private media. However, they were expected to practice self-censorship and avoid criticism of Zayed or the ruling families.

He was the ruler of the Eastern Region from 1946 before becoming the ruler of the whole Abu Dhabi.

Early life
At the time of Zayed's birth, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, like the surrounding states, was located along what was then known as the Trucial Coast. It was in treaty relations with Britain, signing a series of agreements on maritime truce with the local rulers. As he was growing up, there were no modern schools anywhere along the coast. He received only a basic instruction in the principles of Islam, and went out into the desert with the Bedouin tribesmen, familiarising himself with the life of the people, their traditional skills and their ability to survive under the harsh climatic conditions.

Policies and charity
At the time the British withdrew from the Persian Gulf, Zayed oversaw the establishment of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Arab Economic Development; through its oil riches were channeled to some forty less fortunate Islamic nations in Asia and Africa during the decades that followed. He is also remembered as "the man who turned the desert green," because he invested oil revenues into projects to improve the harsh desert environment.

Using the country's enormous oil revenues, Zayed built up institutions such as hospitals, schools and universities and made it possible for UAE citizens to enjoy free access to them. He also decreed that the State would undertake the cost of foreign health care for those families unable to afford it. Other charitable acts included adopting hundreds of orphans and building several hospitals abroad in Europe, Asia, and Africa.

When asked by the New York Times in April 1997 why there is no elected parliamentary democracy, Zayed replied,

“Why should we abandon a system that satisfies our people in order to introduce a system that seems to engender dissent and confrontation? Our system of government is based upon our religion and that is what our people want. Should they seek alternatives, we are ready to listen to them. We have always said that our people should voice their demands openly. We are all in the same boat, and they are both the captain and the crew. Our doors are open for any opinion to be expressed, and this well known by all our citizens. It is our deep conviction that Allah has created people free, and has prescribed that each individual must enjoy freedom of choice. No one should act as if they own others. Those in the position of leadership should deal with their subjects with compassion and understanding, because this is the duty enjoined upon them by Allah, who enjoins upon us to treat all living creatures with dignity. How can there be anything less for mankind, created as Allah's vicegerent (khalif or Caliphate) on earth? Our system of government does not derive its authority from man, but is enshrined in our religion and is based on Allah's Book, the 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.”[2][3]

Land was also often distributed gratis. However, whilst this policy benefited many landless families, enormously wealthy clans and individuals were given free land grants in proportion to their status and influence with the royal family. His majlis (a traditional Arab consultation council) was open to the public, and as well as discussing national and personal issues, he enjoyed hearing people's opinions on poetry, as well as recitals by new and young poets. His tolerance towards other people and their faiths was evident, and he allowed the building of religious buildings such as churches and temples. This action in particular helped his image with the vast multitudes of expatriate workers who make up approximately three quarters of the population of the UAE. Zayed was also an advocate for the education and participation of women in the work force, within traditional parameters. His views regarding women's rights were considerably more liberal than his contemporaries in the GCC nations.

Collapse of BCCI
In 1972, Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani banker who had set up a new bank called Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI), approached Zayed for investment. Abedi had previously set up the United Bank of Pakistan in 1959, which became a leading nationalized bank in 1971. Zayed fronted the majority of the investment for the BCCI. Bank of America (25%) and the CIA allegedly invested, too. It is claimed that the CIA was seeking a funding route for the mujahideen in Afghanistan, similar to the Investors Overseas Service and the Nugen Hand Bank in the 1960s.

By 1977, the bank was almost insolvent. It took on the attributes of a Ponzi scheme, as it funded its operating expenses by deposits it received, rather than by returns from investments it made. In eight years, it reported assets of over $4 billion with over 150 branches in 46 countries. Bank of America reduced its shares, while holding companies in Abu Dhabi took on a controlling block.

In 1990, an audit of the BCCI by Price Waterhouse revealed an unaccountable loss of hundreds of millions of dollars. The bank approached Sheikh Zayed, who funded the loss in exchange for increasing his share to 78% of the bank. The bank was shut down in 1991 by the Bank of England. At the time Zayed's shareholding was 77%.[4]

In December 1991, further investigation found layers of criminal activity taking place through the bank. The law enforcement in the U.S. established the BCCI as an organized crime syndicate[citation needed]. Although Sheikh Zayed was not directly mentioned during interrogations, other family members were implicated in the criminal activity tied to the bank[citation needed]. The investigation found evidence of bribery, money laundering, arms trafficking, prostitution, and support of terrorism

Zayed Center
Controversy over the opinions of the Zayed Center caused the Harvard Divinity School to return Sheikh Zayed's $2.5 million gift to the institution in 2000 as "tainted money." Former United States president Jimmy Carter accepted the Zayed International Prize for the Environment, 2001. The award included a monetary prize of $500,000 from the Zayed Center, and Carter stated in his acceptance that this award meant a lot to him, since it was named after his personal friend, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan.[6]

There was similar controversy when the London School of Economics accepted a large donation by the Zayed Center, to build a new lecture theatre in the New Academic Building in 2008.[7] Despite student protests[citation needed], the gift was accepted with the Sheik Zayed Theatre being the second largest lecture hall on the campus.

Harvard's equivocation, the Carter controversy, and the engendering negative publicity, prompted Sheikh Zayed to shut down the center in August 2003, saying that the Zayed Center "had engaged in a discourse that starkly contradicted the principles of interfaith tolerance

Final years
In 1999, while he was in a hospital for some tests, the people of the UAE wrote him a personal thank-you letter with 1.5 million signatures. He underwent a kidney transplant in 2000 at the Cleveland Clinic in the U.S.

On 2 November 2004, Zayed died, as announced by Abu Dhabi TV. He was believed to be 86 years old. however he had recently been in London undergoing hospital treatment. He is buried in the courtyard of the new Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

His eldest son, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, born in 1948, took an increasing role in the government from the 1990s; he was ratified as the Ruler of the United Arab Emirates by his fellow rulers on the Supreme Council directly after his father's death.

Shaikh Zayed International Airport located at Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan is named in his honor.

Children
With Sheikha Hassa bint Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 1948)
With Sheikha Sheikha bint Ma'dhad Al Mashghouni
Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 1953)
With Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 1963)
Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 1965)
Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 1970)
Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 1972)
Alyazia bint Zayed Al Nahyan
Shamma bint Zayed Al Nahyan
With Sheikha Mouza bint Suhail bin Awaidah Al Khaili
Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (1968–2010)
Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Omar bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Khalid bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Shamsa bint Zayed Al Nahyan
Afra bint Zayed Al Nahyan
With Sheikha Ayesha
Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 1966)
Falah bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Diab bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Latifa bint Zayed Al Nahyan
Mouza bint Zayed Al Nahyan
Wadeema bint Zayed Al Nahyan
a Sheikha (Princess)
With Sheikha née Al Darmaki
Issa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Nasser bin Zayed Al Nahyan (1967–2008)