Simply Abu Dhabi XXIX

Oil exports began in 1962, and with revenues beginning to flow in to other Emirates, the people of Abu Dhabi wished for the same success. Given his myriad achievements to date, Sheikh Zayed was chosen to succeed his brother as Ruler of Abu Dhabi in August 1966. Much as he did in Al Ain, Sheikh Zayed was in a position to change the lives of his people, this time on a much larger scale. He quickly moved to leverage oil revenues into developing essential services that would benefit everyone and lay the blueprint for a prosperous future, establishing schools, housing, hospitals and roads. Then, in 1968, Britain announced that it would leave the region by 1971. Once again, the Sheikh’s visionary outlook led to the idea that, free from British rule, the disparate tribes of the Emirates could unite to build a new future together. The birth of the UAE Sheikh Zayed, along with Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum of Dubai, began the difficult process of negotiating a federation of the Emirates. It’s staggering to think of now: after hundreds of years of people identifying with one Emirate, people were being asked to embrace an entirely new sense of national identity. After decades of successful building consensus and communicating his long-term vision, Sheikh Zayed was successful in getting the other Emirates to agree that that their future strength lay in unity, with each ruling family retaining autonomy in their local Emirate. On 2 December 1971, the newly formed nation of the United Arab Emirates raised its flag, and Sheikh Zayed was elected by his fellow emirs as the first President of the UAE, a post to which he was re-elected several times over.