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Early Emirates (1)

Faisal Mohammed Al-Shamry

November 29, 2021

The march of the civilization of nations deserves to be documented in all its details, as it is the honorable historical record entrusted to the children by the founding fathers.

The establishment of the "Federal Authority for Protocol and Strategic Narrative", in conjunction with our celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the union, and our preparations for the next fifty years, is an indication of the wise leadership's interest in the need to work on upgrading the concepts of strategic narration, and to highlight the positive and inspiring aspects of the personalities of the founders and leaders of the state.

The "First of the Emirates" initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in November 2014, coinciding with the celebrations of the establishment of the UAE Federation, aims to shed light on the achievements of distinguished Emirati models in various fields. The first achievers are those who have worked faithfully since the founding of the UAE, until today, to consolidate the union and raise the flag of the state in all forums, in addition to immortalizing their names in the memory of the Emirates through government archives and their own government yearbook under the name "Encyclopedia of Early Emirates".

Abdullah Ismail (Abu Firas), the first undersecretary of the Oil Department in Abu Dhabi, the first general manager of ADNOC, and the first undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil and Industry in the United Arab Emirates, summarizing the career of one of the first Arab experts in the oil sector in a sensitive and important era in Arab history Modern is full of challenges and difficulties, and its contributions to achieving the economic and industrial boom that contributed to enabling the founding fathers to achieve the unprecedented human civilizational leap in the modern era, and established the honorable state’s position among the nations.

The late Abdullah Ismail was present at the meeting of the founding countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which was held in Baghdad in September 1960, with the participation of Iraq, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Kuwait.

Another country attended as an observer, and the late documented his biography through his first book, which he issued in 1989 entitled: “Iraq’s Oil Negotiations 1952-1968,” and his second book, which he published when he was in his mid-eighties and entitled “In the battlefield of life - a biography.” Autobiography, which represents long decades full of achievements and fruitful efforts that documented his life and upbringing, then his work in oil affairs in Iraq, and then his migration from Iraq to Abu Dhabi, and his contributions to the establishment of the Department of Petroleum and Industry, and then the industrial projects implemented by the Department Petroleum and Industry in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and then its transfer from contributing to the establishment of the Department of Petroleum and Industry to the Ministry of Petroleum and Industry, after the establishment of the union, its retirement, its transition to self-employment, its establishment of the Petroleum Consulting Office in 1979, and its contract with many Japanese and American companies, to provide Oil advisory services for it, based on his rich experience.

Perhaps his talk about his first meeting with the founding father, Sheikh Zayed, may God rest his soul, highlighted the trust of the late in the recommendations of his advisors, and then his assignment to the late Abdullah Ismail (Abu Firas) to establish a department concerned with oil affairs, especially since Abu Dhabi joined the League of Arab States for the first time There is a meeting of the Arab Petroleum Experts Committee on a Saturday, and I happened to meet with the late on Thursday, instructing him to leave immediately for Cairo, to represent the emirate in this important meeting. He replied that he could not represent the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the Arab Petroleum Experts Committee, as he is still an employee In the Iraqi government, and that his presence in Abu Dhabi was a visit, in preparation for taking up the position offered to him after the end of the leave, the founding father, may his soul rest in peace, replied that (the matter is important to me), and directed him to submit an immediate resignation from his job in Iraq, assigning the then Chief of the Court, His Excellency Ahmed Khalifa Al-Suwaidi, by sending an urgent “Telex” to the Iraqi Oil Minister, with the resignation of “Abdullah Ismail,” and that it had been completedAppointing him in charge of oil affairs in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, saying: "You came here to stay."

This immediate decision, based on a thoughtful selection of Arab competencies, indicates exceptional innate skills for rational leadership that built work teams capable of achieving an ambitious vision, to build a state that became a beacon of civilization among nations, and attracted competencies that contributed to the transfer of knowledge, and reducing knowledge differences that may require decades of education. and traditional training, and participated in the education and training of national competencies, and the localization of advanced industries.

Documenting the biography of the pioneers of the Emirates in history books and curricula, and even in specialized exhibitions, and visitor pavilions in our government companies, departments and national institutions is important to achieve the noble goal for which this noble initiative was launched, and to record the founders’ contributions in the pages of contemporary history..

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