Abou Dabi

Abou Dabi , (in Arab, ابوظبي ( ʼAbū Ẓaby ), literally, “Father of the gazelle”) is at the same time a city and a emirate of the United Arab Emirates.

Alternative forms: Abou Dhabi , Abou-Dhabi , Abu Dhabi , Aboû Dabî …

History

The town of Abou Dabi is founded in 1791 by the tribe Bedouin of the Bani Yas, with at their head Shakhbut bin Dhiyab. They are folded up in the area, fleeing the Wahhabites of the Nejd which extended their territory.

Then integral part of the emirate of Dubai, Abou Dabi constitutes emirate with whole share in 1833 at the instigation of the clan of Al-Maktoum, one of the branches of the Yas Outlaw.

During the reign of the sheik Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan (1855 - 1908), the emirate takes importance by preserving its sovereignty vis-a-vis the the United Kingdom and becomes one of the principal world exporting centers of Perle S. With its death, a war of succession starts and ends with the advent of the sheik Shakhbut Bin-Sultan Al Nahyan in 1928. The economy based on the pearls crumbles in the Années 1930 with the launch world of the Japanese pearls of culture . The trade of the Date S, the raising of the Camel X, the fishing and the production of vegetables in the Oasis of Al Ain and Liwa enable him to remain. In 1939, the sheik grants concessions for Pétrole which will be discovered starting from 1958. Too much careful as for these new incomes, it prefers not to reinvest and Abou Dabi develops little.

The reigning family will draw aside it from the throne in 1966 and it is his/her brother, Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, which will take the head of the emirate until its death in 2004. More visionary and ambitious that his predecessor, this last allows Abou Dabi to experience the greatest economic development which the emirate knew and to make of him richest and more populated of the seven emirates (70% of the richness, 40% of the population). Roads, schools, hospitals, projects of electrification, the emirate and its capital éponyme then miss whole and many programs are launched as of the end of the year 1960, whereas the first oil exportations bring invaluable currencies.

The government becomes aware very early nonrenewable character of the oil resources and need to diversify its economy. After having given the priority to the development of this single generating sector of currencies until half of the years 1970, the emirate of Abou Dabi benefitted from a massive surge of funds following the oil crisis of 1973 to develop other sectors and more particularly heavy industry and agriculture. The first five-year plan of the federation of the United Arab Emirates (1980) expresses this governmental will particularly to diversify the economy and to even develop renewable energy sources. But these plans were only half-successes. If the saving in Abou Dabi is diversified much than that of other emirates of the Gulf, like Qatar, Bahrain or Kuwait, the oil exportations rough and refined represents all the same more of two thirds of the economy of the emirate. It is much less than what the emirate close to Doubai succeeded in carrying out by reducing its share of oil (gross) in the GDP 2005 to 6% (official figure), thanks to its activities of import-export, its industrial parks, its many free zones, its sectors of tourism, of finance and especially since 2002, of construction.

With the prospects for noticeable decrease of the volume of exportable oil from here a few decades, the government of Abou Dabi carries out since the end of the Années 1990 a double program of opening (to the capital and foreign investors) and of privatization. This liberalization being added to a strong appreciation of the price of the barrel of petrol because of the regional geopolitical tensions, the saving in Abou Dabi knows since 2002 an “Asian” growth ranging between 5% and 10% per annum.

Since 2004 and the death of Sheikh Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan, it is the oldest son of Zayid, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayid Al Nahyan, who is with the head of the emirate and also President of the Federation of the United Arab Emirates. International observers and economists were quickly reassured by the attitude of the new emir d' Abou Dabi which, like his/her father, characterizes his policy by an economic dynamism and a diplomatic prudence.

Geography

The emirate of Abou Dabi is located in the South and the West of the United Arab Emirates of which it accounts for approximately 80% of the territory. The majority of the emirate is occupied by the Désert Rub' Al Khali and the coast on the Persian Gulf and mainly occupied by Sebkha S. the emirate has borders with the Saudi Arabia in the South and the West, with Oman in the East and the emirates of Dubai and Charjah in North. It has neither Enclave, nor Exclave.

The town of Abou Dabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates since 1971, is located on the coast, in the North of the emirate. In the beginning confined on an island in form of “T” which advances in the Persian Gulf, it is spread out today in the desert and comprises a international Aéroport, a Université, industrial parks, etc It also has a very large mosque recently, the Mosquée Sheikh Zayed. In 2006, it counted 619 316 inhabitants.

Policy

See also: Political of the United Arab Emirates

Emirs d' Abou Dabi

1761 - 1793 Dhiyab bin `Isa ibn Nahyan
1793 - 1816 Shakhbut bin Dhiyab Al Nahyan I
1816 - 1818 Muhammad bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan
1818 - 1833 Shakhbut bin Dhiyab Al Nahyan II
1818 - April 1833 Tahnun bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan
April 1833 - 1845 Khalifa bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan
April 1833 - July 1845 Sultan bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan

July 1845 - September 1845 `Isa bin Khalid (usurping)
September 1845 - December 1845 Dhiyab bin `Isa (usurping)

December 1845 - 1855 Said bin Tahnun Al Nahyan
1855 - May 1909 Zayid bin Khalifa Al Nahyan
May 1909 - October 1912 Tahnun bin Zayid Al Nahyan
October 1912 - August 22nd, 1922 Hamdan bin Zayid Al Nahyan
August 22nd, 1922 - August 4th, 1926 Sultan bin Zayid Al Nahyan
August 4th, 1926 - January 1st, 1928 Saqr bin Zayid Al Nahyan
January 1st, 1928 - August 6th, 1966 Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan († 1989)
August 6th, 1966 - November 2nd, 2004 Zayid bin Sultan Al Nahyan
November 2nd, 2004 - in progress Khalifa bin Zayid Al Nahyan II

Population

In 2006, the population was estimated at 1 432 900 people but the large majority are immigrant workers coming mainly from the other Arab countries and the Indian Sous-continent.

More the big city is Abou Dabi with 619 316 inhabitants. The other important city is that of Al Ain in the oasis of the same name, in the East of the emirate, with 426 985 inhabitants (figures of 2006).

Philately

Between 1964 and 1972, Abou Dabi emitted 90 stamps posts with for legend Abou Dabi . The last emitted series (twelve values) consists of stamps of the current series of 1970 - 1971 overloaded letters UAE (for United Arab Emirates , United Arab Emirates in French) and of Arab characters.

Appendices

External bonds

Sources

Population of Abou Dabi
Leader of Abou Dabi

Reference

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