Story of the UAE in Historical Rare Photos -Part III

Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, with Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Crown Prince of Dubai. Gandhi had just been re-elected in 1981 for her final term when she visited the UAE.

Acclaimed author and explorer Sir Wilfred Thesiger with Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan (second from left), Minister of Higher Education, at an exhibition in 1990 of his early photographs of the UAE taken during his extensive travels. Thesiger is best known for his book Arabian Sands, a fascinating tale of his historic and harrowing journeys in the early 1950s across the Empty Quarter accompanied by two Bedouin companions: Salim Bin Kabina Al Rashidi (left) and Salim Bin Gabaisha Musallam Al Rashidi (second from right). With them is Musallam Bin Kamam Al Rashidi (third from right).

May 29, 1980. A debate in the old Federal National Council chamber in Al Khubairah Palace in Abu Dhabi. Long-term FNC member from Abu Dhabi, Faraj Bin Ali Bin Hamouda, is standing to address the chamber, being heard by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Minister of Defence (front row, third from right), who is sitting with Saeed Al Ghaith (fourth from right); Abdullah Al Muzahmi, Director of Operations in the Ministry of Defence (second from right); and Abdul Majeed Al Sayyed, Adviser (first from right).

Shaikh Mubarak Bin Mohammad Al Nahyan (right), Minister of Interior, and his son Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan (left), Chancellor of UAE University, and a very young member of the third generation of the family, at the wedding of Shaikh Saeed Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan in 1984.

Former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri speaks at the Emirates International Forum in Dubai in March 1999. Hariri, who served as premier from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004, is credited with reconstructing Beirut following Lebanon’s 15-year civil war. He was tragically assassinated on February 14, 2005, when a massive explosion targeted his convoy in Beirut.

Sir Elton John in concert in 2002 at the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, where he played for hours to his fans’ delight. Young and old flocked to watch one of the greatest stars to have played in Dubai become a part of their lives.

Princess Anne is greeted in 1987 by pupils of the Dubai English Speaking School as teacher Karen Otty looks on.

In 1980 Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, chairs a meeting of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) board of directors, who included Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Mohammad, the Abu Dhabi Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region and Chairman of Adnoc, and Dr Mana Saeed Al Otaiba, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

In 1983 the internationally renowned Indian artist M.F. Hussain was in Dubai, as he was a frequent visitor in the 1980s. Many years later Hussain made Dubai his place of residence before eventually moving to Qatar.

In 1992 Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais (centre), founder and chairman of the Al Owais Foundation, honours Mohammad Mahdi Al Jawahiri (left), the leading classical Arab poet of the 20th century, supported by Abdul Gaffar Hussain (right). Born in Najaf in Iraq in 1899, Al Jawahiri started writing poetry in 1921 and produced works like “Diwan Al Jawahiri” and “Between Feelings and Emotions”. He supported the 1958 coup in Iraq initially, but later had to go into exile first in 1961 and again in 1991 when he went on to live in Syria until his death in 1997.

Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with Muammar Gaddafi, President of Libya, at Abu Dhabi Airport in 1979. Both leaders were accompanied by some of their sons. From left: Hannibal Gaddafi; Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (today’s UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs); Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (today’s UAE Foreign Minister); Saif Al Islam Gaddafi, and Shaikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Legendary Pakistani qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan performs at a charity concert in Dubai in 1993 to raise funds for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Pakistan.

In December 1981, Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, welcomes Zia ul Haq, President of Pakistan, at the start of his official visit to the UAE.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan dances with one of his young fans at the Al Shabab Stadium in Dubai as part of the 1993 UAE National Day celebrations. Thousands of people were astonished when Bachchan descended into the stadium in a hot air balloon and landed in the middle of the crowd.

 Prince Charles and Princess Diana in 1989 with Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and Crown Prince of Dubai, at Dubai International Airport.

Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, relaxes in 1982 with his son, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then Defence Minister and present Vice- President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, with Shaikha Latifa Bint Mohammad Al Maktoum sitting between them.