A Change Of Sheikhs

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31143, 20 August 1966, Page 14

A Change Of Sheikhs

Even in the mysterious deserts of the Persian Gulf so humdrum an affair as a domestic upset can change a dynasty. Such an upheaval has deposed Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan, ruler of Abu Dhabi, and deposited him quite suddenly in neighbouring Bahrain, where he has temporary asylum. The replacement of Sheikh Shakhbut by his youngest brother, Sheikh Zaid, was greeted in London with unconcealed relief. Abu Dhabi is one of the more obscure outposts of Empire where there is a British Political Agent; it is the largest of the seven Trucial States, independent sheikhdoms bordering the Gulf and once known as the Pirate Coast.

The danger seen in Sheikh Shakhbut's rule was his refusal to make changes when there was every reason and opportunity for him to do so. Sheikh 3*fakhbut is one of the richest men in the world; he has had an income of some £25 million a year since oil production began in 1962; and his disbursements have borne no relation to the immensity of this wealth. The Sheikh is a slight, wily, quizzical man of 61 who had become a figure of fun because of his unwillingness to spend money. There is little doubt, however, that the full humour of the situation was lost on his people, 17,000 Arabs who have been memorably described as poor as mosque mice. It is said that Sheikh Shakhbut had abandoned, in favour of banking, his earlier habit of keeping his oil revenues under his bed; but he was still cautious about paying his employees on time. Sheikh Shakhbut is not, of course, the first man to be bewildered by the sudden acquisition of wealth. His reaction to his new condition might have been understandable; but it did not build schools and roads and raise the general standard of living. And so, after 38 years as ruler, Sheikh Shakhbut had to go. He was a victim of progress. The Sheikh hated change and he would have liked the Trucial Coast to remain the forgotten strip of desert it has always been. Many would sympathise with him, while recognising that that is not the way of the world.