Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan (Arabic: شخبوط بن سلطان آل نهيان; 1 June 1905 – 11 February 1989) was the ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1928 to 1966. On 6 August 1966, Shakhbut was deposed by members of his family with assistance from Britain in a bloodless coup. His younger brother, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan succeeded him as the ruler of Abu Dhabi.[2]

In this Arabic name, the surname is Al Nahyan.
Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Sheikh Shakhbut in 1961
Ruler of Abu Dhabi
Reign1928–1966
PredecessorSaqr I bin Zayed Al Nahyan
SuccessorZayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Born(1905-06-01)1 June 1905
Abu Dhabi, Trucial States
Died11 February 1989(1989-02-11) (aged 83)
Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
Spouses
  • Sheikha Fakhera bint Hazza Al Nahyan
  • Mariam bint Rashid Al Otaiba[1]
Issue2 sons and 4 daughters
HouseAl Nahyan
FatherSultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan
MotherSalama bint Butti Al-Qubaisi
ReligionSunni Islam

Early life

Shakhbut was born in 1905.[3] He was the eldest son of Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan. His mother was Sheikha Salama bint Butti.[1][4]

Reign

Sheikh Shakhbut succeeded his uncle Sheikh Saqr bin Zayed Al Nahyan in 1928, becoming the ruler of the emirate of Abu Dhabi. During his reign, he adopted an aggressively mercantilist strategy, keeping his reserves in gold.[5]

After the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi in 1958, Abu Dhabi's elites were frustrated by Shakhbut's refusal to spend the petroleum royalties.[6] At the request of Abu Dhabi's elites, the British carried out a bloodless coup against Shakhbut, installing Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in his stead.[7][6] Shakhbut's reign lasted until 6 August 1966 when he was deposed in the bloodless coup by the Trucial Oman Scouts to the benefit of his brother Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.[2]

Personal life

Shakhbut married twice. His first wife was his first cousin, Sheikha Fakhera bint Hazza Al Nahyan, and she was the mother of all his children. They had two sons, Saeed and Sultan. Both of his sons predeceased Shakhbut; they died in their youth while living in exile with their father. The elder son, Saeed, was married to his cousin, the daughter of his uncle Sheikh Zayed in Buraimi in 1963. He has a son named Tahnoun. Saeed's daughter, Fakhra is married to Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.[8] Sultan also had a son, Khalifa. [9] Their descendants continue to live in the emirate of Abu Dhabi. In addition to his two sons, Sheikh Shakhbut also had four daughters, Osha, Mozah, Qoot and Rawdha. Shakhbut's second wife was Mariam bint Rashid Al Otaiba.[9] They did not have children together.

After being deposed, Shakhbut and his family went into exile to Iran under his brother Zayed's orders. They resided in the Khuzestan province of Iran. They were hosted by Sheikh Abdulkarim Al-Faisali of the Banu Tamim clan.

Honours

On 24 April 1966 King Hussein of Jordan awarded him the Nahda Order, then the highest Jordanian honour.[9]

References
  1. Bushra Alkaff Al Hashemi (27 February 2013). "Memories of a simpler time". The National. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  2. Helene von Bismarck (2013). British Policy in the Persian Gulf, 1961–1968: Conceptions of Informal Empire. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 155, 181. ISBN 978-1-137-32673-7. On the evening of 4 August, the acting political agent in Abu Dhabi, Mr Nuttall, had been presented with a letter signed by the senior members of the ruling family, informing the British Government that they had decided to depose Shaikh Shakhbut. In this letter, they had formally asked the British Government to help them avoid a disturbance of the peace in Abu Dhabi by permanently removing Shaikh Shakhbut, and temporarily removing his two sons, Said and Sultan, from the shaikhdom
  3. Michael Quentin Morton (2013). "Thesiger And The Oilmen: A Dilemma Of Oil Exploration In Southern Arabia, 1930–1955". Oil Industry History. 14 (1): 1–14.
  4. Uzi Rabi (2006). "Oil Politics and Tribal Rulers in Eastern Arabia: The Reign of Shakhbut (1928– 1966)". British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies. 33 (1): 37–50. doi:10.1080/13530190600603832. S2CID 145543142.
  5. Katharina Pistor; Kyle Hatton (2011). "Maximizing Autonomy in the Shadow of Great Powers: The Political Economy of Sovereign Wealth Funds". Columbia Public Law & Legal Theory. Working Papers. 50: 1.
  6. Douglas Martin (3 November 2004). "Zayed bin Sultan, Gulf Leader and Statesman, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2014.
  7. Jeff D. Colgan (2021). Partial Hegemony: Oil Politics and International Order. Oxford University Press. pp. 149–150. doi:10.1093/oso/9780197546376.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-754637-6.
  8. http://wam.ae/en/details/1395227425600
  9. Miriam Joyce (1999). "On the road towards unity: the Trucial states from a British perspective, 1960–66". Middle Eastern Studies. 35 (2): 45–60. doi:10.1080/00263209908701266.
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