Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Emirati politician (1905–1989)

In this Arabic name, the surname is  Al Nahyan.

* Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan
* شخبوط بن سلطان آل نهيان

Sheikh Shakhbut in 1961

Ruler of Abu Dhabi
Reign| 1 January 1928 – 6 August 1966
Predecessor| Saqr bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Successor| Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan

Born| (1905-06-01)1 June 1905
Abu Dhabi, Trucial States
Died| 11 February 1989(1989-02-11) (aged 83)
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Spouses|

* Fakhera bint Hazza Al Nahyan
* Mariam bint Faisal Al Otaiba[1]

Issue| 2 sons and 4 daughters
House| Al Nahyan
Father| Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Mother| Salama bint Butti Al Qubaisi
Religion| Sunni Islam

Sheikh 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]

## Early life

[edit]

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

[edit]

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, via the Trucial Oman Scouts, carried out a bloodless coup against Shakhbut on 6 August 1966, installing Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in his stead.[7][6][2]

## Personal life

[edit]

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 tribe.

## Honours

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Bushra Alkaff Al Hashemi (27 February 2013). "Memories of a simpler time". The National. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
2. ^ a b 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): 1–14.1-14&rft.date=2013&rft.au=Michael+Quentin+Morton&rft_id=https://archives.datapages.com/data/phi/v14_2013/morton.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Shakhbut+bin+Sultan+Al+Nahyan" class="Z3988">
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 145543142.37-50&rft.date=2006&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/13530190600603832&rft_id=https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:145543142#id-name=S2CID&rft.au=Uzi+Rabi&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Shakhbut+bin+Sultan+Al+Nahyan" class="Z3988">
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. ^ a b 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 978-0-19-754637-6.149-150&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2021&rft_id=info:doi/10.1093/oso/9780197546376.001.0001&rft.isbn=978-0-19-754637-6&rft.au=Jeff+D.+Colgan&rft_id=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780197546376.001.0001/oso-9780197546376&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Shakhbut+bin+Sultan+Al+Nahyan" class="Z3988">
8. ^ "Sheikha Fatima attends Zayed University's graduation ceremony 1st add". wam.ae. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
9. ^ a b c 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:10.1080/00263209908701266.45-60&rft.date=1999&rft_id=info:doi/10.1080/00263209908701266&rft.au=Miriam+Joyce&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Shakhbut+bin+Sultan+Al+Nahyan" class="Z3988">

## External links

[edit]

* LIFE magazine article dated 3 May 1963
* Media related to Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan at Wikimedia Commons

Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan

House of Al Nahyan

Born: 1905 Died: 1989

Regnal titles
Preceded by

Sheikh Saqr bin Zayed

|  Ruler of Abu Dhabi
1928–1966  | Succeeded by

Sheikh Zayed II bin Sultan

* v
* t
* e

Rulers of Abu Dhabi

* Dhiyab bin Isa Al Nahyan (1761–1793)
* Shakhbut bin Dhiyab Al Nahyan (1793–1816)
* Muhammad bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan (1816–1818)
* Tahnun bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan (1818–1833)
* Khalifa bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan (1833–1845)
* Saeed bin Tahnun Al Nahyan (1845–1855)
* Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan (1855–1909)
* Tahnun bin Zayed Al Nahyan (1909–1912)
* Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan (1912–1922)
* Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan (1922–1926)
* Saqr bin Zayed Al Nahyan (1926–1928)
* Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1928–1966)
* Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (1966–2004)
* Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2004–2022)
* Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2022–present)

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