As a visionary and peaceful man, Sheik Zayed encouraged and promoted reason, compromise, and dialogue to solve the persistent regional wars and conflicts. Even at his death, I consider him a role model. His legacy revolves around equity, charity, tolerance, generosity, and remains impactful up to today. One such example is when he signed an agreement with Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed, the Sultan of Oman, in 1999. The treaty defined the borders between the two states. Due to his initiative of solving disputes in peaceful manners, the rulers of Bahrain and Qatar started exchanging visits. They agreed to set up many committees to resolve the difference between the two countries in 2000. After the 9/11 attack, he called for an international campaign against terrorism. He was the first leader to call for unity in the area after establishing that the zone would not thrive without cooperation among states. Therefore, Sheikh Zayed’s philosophy upheld collaboration and peace among people and countries and contributed to the current successes of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Moreover, Sheikh Zayed’s good leadership is widely evident in the various peacekeeping missions that UAE embarked on during his reign. For instance, in 1976, the UAE amalgamated all its army. Some military men went to many parts of the world for peacekeeping assignments. Further, in 1996 he dispatched some of the UAE forces to Kosovo to help the United Nations (U.N) maintain peace. Therefore, as a role model, Sheikh Zayed actively enhanced harmony and cooperation in the Arab World. One of his known movements was traveling to every part of the territories under his control to listen to people’s needs and open “Majlis” to foster close ties. Many historical authors documented his behaviors and noted his calm character and easy informal ways of contacting his people. Due to all these qualities of Sheikh Zayed and after discovering oil in the 1950s, the Al-Nahyan family was elected as the new ruler of Abu Dhabi, who could lead the development process that matches the increased wealth of the Emirate. In the year 1966, his rule started what ended the history of Abu Dhabi and the UAE forever. He implemented new reforms, which included modern education, healthcare, and public housing. He was the main reason that the federation of the United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971. His large political efforts to gather the seven emirates that formed the UAE and started the new history of a very well-developed country became examples of a leader to emulate.
Conclusively, Sheikh Zayed was the father and role model of the UAE. At the same time, he believed that the UAE could be one of the world’s best countries. He could achieve these by developing the country through education and economic revolution that made the UAE one of the world’s best nations. While the current world continues fighting to achieve equality between the two genders, Sheikh Zayed took the personal initiative to empower Emirate women. He fought to ensure that women accessed all the necessary support they need for them to participate in national building. Zayed was concerned about the social welfare of his people. He implemented several measures to provide resources that would improve their standards of living. Sheikh Zayed is a role model who played a significant part in upholding peace, cooperation among people and countries and contributed to the UAE’s success due to his noble philosophies.