President Sheikh Zayed was not merely a national leader, but a widely-respected Arab and world statesman.
The work accomplished by Sheikh Zayed is huge . . . Man of peace and vision, he kept promoting the virtues of compromise, reason and dialogue in a region troubled by crises and conflicts.
His name will remain closely associated with the cause of peace and development in the world to which he devoted his life.
2. INTRODUCTION
• His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al
Nahyan, Founder and President of the
United Arab Emirates and one of the
most outstanding leaders in the history
of the world.
• He had ruled the hearts of people
before we he ruled the country.
• He is the leader of welfare of his people.
• People all over the world agree on his
love and respect.
• He taught us that there is no
impossibility.
• He grew in our hearts and minds that
the UAE is the most precious asset we
have.
• He proved for the whole world that the
UAE and its people could change the
desert into paradise on the earth.
3. BIRTH & CHILDHOOD
Zayed was born in 1918 and named
after his grandfather, Shaikh Zayed
bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, who has the
longest reign in the emirate's history,
ruling Abu Dhabi from 1855 to 1909.
His grandfather is also known as
“Zayed The Great” and “Zayed the
First”, and had played a large role in
forging unity between the tribes of
the country and leading the Bani Yas
tribe.
As a boy, Sheikh Zayed received only
basic instruction in Islam from the
local preacher, but he was an able
student hungry for learning.
4. EARLY EFFORTS OF ZAYED IN
DEVELOPING THE UAE
The economy suffered when
the market for Gulf pearls
collapsed in the 1930s after
Japanese scientists invented
the cultured pearl.
At this point, the first oil
company teams came to carry
out geological surveys, and
Zayed was appointed to guide
them around the desert.
5. ZAYED’S EARLY
LEADERSHIP
Sheikh Shakhbut assigned Sheikh
Zayed to govern Al Ain in 1946.
In 1953. They both traveled to Europe
to discuss about oil dispute.
They also traveled to the United
States, Switzerland, Lebanon, Iraq,
Egypt, Syria, India, Iran, and Pakistan.
On his return, Sheikh Zayed was
convinced that it was urgent to
develop the area in order to bridge
the large gap between it and the rest
of the world.
6. ZAYED AS A RULER OF ABU
DHABI Life changed rapidly with the
discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in
1958.
Sheikh Zayed became ruler of Abu
Dhabi in 1966.
In January 1968, the British decision
to withdraw from the country
provided perhaps the greatest
challenge of Sheikh Zayed's life.
Using skilful negotiation, Sheikh
Zayed could pass all difficulties to
build his country.
Sheikh Zayed dedicated his life for
improvement of both people and
the country.
7. EARLY ACHIEVEMENTS OF
ZAYED
As a ruler for Abu Dhabi, Sheikh
Zayed introduced a formal
government structure, with
departments developed to handle
specific tasks.
Priority was given to build basic
housing facilities, schools, health
services, and the construction of an
airport, a sea port, roads, and a
bridge to link Abu Dhabi to the
mainland.
Financial resources were spent for
the planting of trees in Al Ain in
order to transform Abu Dhabi into a
green city.
8. BIRTH OF THE UAE
Sheikh Zayed was the first statesman to call for a
union.
Sheikh Zayed realized that for Abu Dhabi to
prosper, it would need to co-operate with its tribal
neighbors. So his first step was to meet with the
then-ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al
Maktoom.
The two held meetings on the 19th of February
1968 at Samih and discussed border disputes. This
followed by the signing of an agreement on the
27th of February 1968, which would form a
federation of nine emirates (Abu Dhabi, Ajman,
Bahrain, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah,
Qatar and Umm al-Quwain).
Unfortunately, they had many setbacks as Zayed
tried for 3 years to bring things together. Bahrain
and Qatar wanted to seek full independence.
On the 2nd of December 1971, a federation of six
emirates (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah,
Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain) formed the United Arab
Emirates [UAE]. Sheikh Zayed was elected president
and Sheikh Rashid was elected vice-president.
9. ZAYED AS A PRESIDENT OF
THE UAE
In the 1970s the great oil boom
years brought huge prosperity to
the UAE and Sheikh Zayed invested
the money in the infrastructure of
the nation with a further
construction boom following on
from the first boom in the late
1960s.
Sheikh Zayed got off to a
characteristically generous start. He
literally handed out the oil revenues
to his people. Word soon passed
around and there was a long queue
outside his palace. Nobody went
away empty handed, and this was a
sign of things to come.
10. NEW TREND OF
THE UAE
Sheikh Zayed also began
to rapidly transform the
country:
Assembling a government
from the ground up,
creating departments for
water and
electricity,finance,
municipal planning, police,
defense, communications,
internal affairs, external
affairs, health, education
and the judiciary.
11. THE UAE IS AN EXCEPTIONAL
COUNTRY
Sheikh Zayed policy of love & Peace
made the UAE a special country in
the Gulf, Arabian, Islamic And global
levels.
People become eager to visit the
UAE
All people with crisis could get
some help by Zayed and the UAE.
Emirati people get other nations’
people love and respect wherever
they go.
12. ZAYED IS AN
EXCEPTIONAL LEADER
It was an exceptional achievement
for a man who had no formal
education and had lived the
nomadic life of a Bedouin for much
of his life. But Sheikh Zayed was an
excellent judge of men and always
open to expatriate advice and
assistance in developing Abu Dhabi.
Today, this advanced and elegant
city is a fitting monument to Sheikh
Zayed's legacy.
13. PEOPLE’S LOVE
FOR ZAYED
In 1999, while Sheikh Zayed 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.
People of the UAE and the whole world cried
Zayed’s death on 2 November 2004 .
All the people wish they scarify themselves
instead of Zayed.
They all stand together to support His
Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan
as a president of the UAE.
14. CONCLUSION
President Sheikh Zayed
was not merely a national
leader, but a widely-
respected Arab and world
statesman.
The work accomplished by
Sheikh Zayed is huge . . .
Man of peace and vision,
he kept promoting the
virtues of compromise,
reason and dialogue in a
region troubled by crises
and conflicts.
His name will remain
closely associated with the
cause of peace and
development in the world