Middle East Information Resource
Political Entities - al-Nuhayan
Al-Nuhayan is the ruling clan of Abu Dhabi in the Trucial Peninsula of Oman, part of the United Arab Emirates since 1971. The ruler and head of the clan during recent decades has been Sheikh Zared ibn Sultan al-Nuhayan, born in 1918.
Sheikh Zared was Governor of the sheikhdom`s al-Ain district from 1946 to 1966, with the oasis of al-Buraimi at its center. In 1966, while Abu Dhabi was still a British Protectorate, he overthrew his brother Sheikh Shakhbut ibn Sultan. It appears that Sheikh Zared took power with the encouragement of the British, who considered Sheikh Shakhbut ibn Sultan an obstacle to development and progress, or at any rate to their agenda. He became the ruler of Abu Dhabi and played a major role in the negotiations toward the federation of the Trucial Coast sheikhdoms as the UAE. To do this he had to overcome the rivalries and disputes between the various sheikhs, especially between his own clan and the sheikhs al-Maktum, the rulers of Dubai.
When the UAE was formed in 1971, Sheikh Zared became President of the Federation, remaining also ruler of Abu Dhabi. He has been reelected for successive five-year terms. Sheikh Zared has been pressing for stronger federal institutions and has made slow progress against resistance mainl from Dubai.