Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان | |||||
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1st President of the United Arab Emirates | |||||
In office 2 December 1971 – 2 November 2004 | |||||
Prime Minister |
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Vice President |
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Preceded by | Position established | ||||
Succeeded by | Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan | ||||
Ruler of Abu Dhabi | |||||
Reign | 6 August 1966 – 2 November 2004 | ||||
Predecessor | Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan | ||||
Successor | Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan | ||||
Born | [1] Qasr Al-Hosn, Abu Dhabi, Trucial States | 6 May 1918||||
Died | 2 November 2004 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | (aged 86)||||
Burial | |||||
Spouses |
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Issue more... | |||||
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House | Al Nahyan | ||||
Father | Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan | ||||
Mother | Salama bint Butti Al Qubaisi | ||||
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (Arabic: زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان, romanized: Zāyid bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Eastern Region from 1946 until he succeeded Sheikh Shakhbut as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966, and then as the first president of the United Arab Emirates while he retained his position as Abu Dhabi's ruler from 1971 until his death in 2004.[2][1][3] He is revered in the United Arab Emirates as the Waalid al-Ummah ("Father of the Nation"), credited for being the principal driving force behind the unification of the United Arab Emirates.[4][5][6][7]
Zayed replaced his older brother Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan as the ruler of Abu Dhabi on 6 August 1966 after Shakhbut was deposed through a bloodless coup by members of the ruling family with British support.[8]
On the evening of 4 August, a letter was eventually delivered to Nuttall in the political agency in Abu Dhabi, stating the desire of the 'Heads and lawful representatives of [the] Ruling family' to depose the ruler and asking the British Government for its help in removing him from the shaikhdom