Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi (1943/1944 – September 1, 2011) was a

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and

opposition leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. Al-Nuaimi, who spent more than thirty years in self-imposed

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

from

, founded some of the country's most important political

opposition group In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political parties or other organized groups that are opposed, primarily ideologically, to the government (or, in American English, the administration), party or group in political control of ...

s. He was born in 1944 on

Muharraq island Muharraq Island (), formerly known as Moharek, is the second largest island in the archipelago of Bahrain after Bahrain Island. It lies east of the capital, Manama, on Bahrain Island. History It is named after Muharraq City, the former capital ...

to the Sunni Al Nuaim family that has close ties to the traditional ruling circles. In the 1960s, he became increasingly politically active and joined the

Arab Nationalist Movement The Arab Nationalist Movement ( ar, حركة القوميين العرب, ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab''), also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Ara ...

. In 1966, he graduated from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

with a degree in mechanical engineering. He founded the

Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain The Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير البحرين) was an underground political party in Bahrain with origins in the Arab Nationalist Movement. Its members were inclined towards the le ...

(PFLB), a resistance group, during the 1970s. The groups was inspired by the Arab Nationalist Movement which was sweeping though the

Arab World The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

at the time. After a crackdown on the workers' movements at the power station where he was working in 1968, he left Bahrain to live in exile, spending 33 years in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. In 2001, al-Nuaimi returned to Bahrain from abroad and re-entered politics. He founded the

National Democratic Action Society The National Democratic Labour Action Society – Wa'ad ( ar, جمعية العمل الوطني الديمقراطي – وعد) is Bahrain's largest leftist political party. History and profile It emerged from the Popular Front, a "radical" c ...

(NDA), Bahrain's largest

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

, with members of the former PFLB. The NDA is also known as the Wa'ad party. Al-Nuaimi ran for a seat in the

Council of Representatives of Bahrain The Council of Representatives (''Majlis an-nuwab''), sometimes translated as the "Chamber of Deputies", is the name given to the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly, the national legislative body of Bahrain. The council was created ...

during the 2006 parliamentary election, but lost to a pro-candidate candidate by a small margin. Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi suffered from deteriorating health in the mid-2000s. He fell into a coma in April 2007. He was succeeded as head of the National Democratic Action Society by

Ibrahim Sharif Ibrahim Sharif al-Sayed ( ar, ابراهيم شريف السيد) is an opposition political activist in Bahrain, currently serving as the General Secretary of the secular socialist National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad).Ibrahim Sharif Ibrahim Sharif al-Sayed ( ar, ابراهيم شريف السيد) is an opposition political activist in Bahrain, currently serving as the General Secretary of the secular socialist National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad).2011 Bahraini protests The 2011 Bahraini uprising was a series of anti-government protests in Bahrain led by the Shia-dominant and some Sunni minority Bahraini opposition from 2011 until 2014. The protests were inspired by the unrest of the 2011 Arab Spring and prote ...

as part of a crackdown on opposition leaders.

References

1940s births 2011 deaths Bahraini Arab nationalists Bahraini dissidents Bahraini exiles Bahraini left-wing activists Bahraini politicians Bahraini Sunni Muslims National Democratic Action Society politicians {{Bahrain-politician-stub