Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, شخبوط بن سلطان آل نهيان; 1 June 1905 – 11 February 1989) was the ruler of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

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 Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

succeeded him as the ruler of Abu Dhabi.

Early life

Shakhbut was born in 1905. He was the eldest son of

Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan ( ar, ٱلشَّيْخ سُلْطَان بْن زَایِد بْن خَلِیْفَة آل نَهْيَان, Sulṭān bin Zāyid bin Khalīfah Āl Nahyān) was the ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, ...

. His mother was Sheikha Salama bint Butti.

Reign

Sheikh Shakhbut succeeded his uncle Sheikh

Saqr bin Zayed Al Nahyan Saqr bin Zayed Al Nahyan was the Ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1926 to 1928. He was the half brother of Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan (Ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1922 to 1926), whom he shot and killed to become Ruler himself. He was the uncle of Z ...

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. 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. At the request of Abu Dhabi's elites, the British carried out a bloodless coup against Shakhbut, installing Sheikh

as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in his stead. Shakhbut's reign lasted until 6 August 1966 when he was deposed in the bloodless coup by the

Trucial Oman Scouts The Trucial Oman Scouts was a paramilitary force that the British raised in 1951 as the Trucial Oman Levies, to serve in the Trucial States. In 1956, the Levies were renamed the Trucial Oman Scouts. In 1971, upon the formation of the United Arab ...

to the benefit of his brother

Personal life

His first wife was his first cousin, Sheikha Fakhera bint Hazza Al Nahyan, who was also the mother of all his children. They had two sons, Saeed and Sultan, both of them died in their youth while living in exile with their father. Saeed was married to his cousin, the daughter of his uncle

Sheikh Zayed Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

Buraimi Al Buraimi Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ٱلْبُرَيْمِي, Muḥāfaẓat Al-Buraimī) is one of the 11 governorates of Oman which was split from the Ad Dhahirah Region. Until October 2006, the area was part of Ad Dhahirah Regi ...

in 1963. 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. His second wife was Mariam bint Rashid Al Otaiba. Shakhbut's family was later exiled to Iran under his brother's orders, housed by Sheikh Abdulkarim Al-Faisali of the Banu Tamim clan.

Honours

On 24 April 1966

King Hussein Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

awarded him the Nahda Order, then the highest Jordanian honour.

References

External links

''LIFE'' magazine article dated 3 May 1963
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nahyan, Shakhbut Sultan 20th-century Emirati people 20th-century rulers in Asia 1905 births 1989 deaths Dethroned monarchs Emirati politicians Shakhbut Sheikhs of Abu Dhabi World War II political leaders