Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Personal life

Abdullah bin Zayed was born in Abu Dhabi on 30 April 1972. He holds a degree in political science from UAE University. He is married to Alyazia bint Saif Al Nahyan, who became an FAO Goodwill Ambassador extraordinary in 2010, and has five children: Fatima, Mohammed, Zayed, Saif and Theyab.

Career

Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates on 9 February 2006.

In 2017, leaked emails highlighted that Abdullah bin Zayed maintained close contacts with UK prime minister Tony Blair, who was being funded by the UAE as the Middle East peace envoy. Blair held a number of official meetings with the UAE Foreign Minister. The emails also revealed that Abdullah bin Zayed was one of the UAE royals who supported the envoy financially. In 2011, Abdullah's office separately sent US$2 million to Blair through Windrush Ventures, which channeled money for Tony Blair's commercial advisory work. The UAE Foreign Ministry also transferred $12 million to Windrush for Blair consultancy work in Colombia, Vietnam and Mongolia.

In August 2017, Abdullah urged Iran and Turkey to end what the UAE called their "colonial" actions in Syria, signaling unease about diminishing Gulf Arab influence in the war, and calling "the exit of those parties trying to reduce the sovereignty of the Syrian state." He added that "if Iran and Turkey continue the same historical, colonial and competitive behavior and perspectives between them in Arab affairs, we will continue in this situation not just in Syria today but tomorrow in some other country."

On 14 February 2019, Abdullah said that Israel was justified in attacking Iranian targets in Syria.

On 15 September 2020, Abdullah signed the official Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement in a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C., US.

In February 2022, the UAE abstained in a UN Security Council vote to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine. Abdullah had a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken prior to the UN Security Council vote. In the phone call, Blinken spoke of the "importance of building a strong international response to support Ukrainian sovereignty through the UN Security Council." The Emirati report of the phone call did not include Blinken's statement.

On January 7, 2025 while serving as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs he received Gideon Sa'ar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, in Abu Dhabi to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries.

Other roles

Abdullah bin Zayed is a member of the UAE's National Security Council, Deputy Chairman of the UAE's Permanent Committee on Borders, Chairman of the National Media Council, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Foundation for Youth Development, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) and Board Member of the National Defense College.

He served as Minister of Information and Culture from 1997 to 2006. He had previously served as Chairman of Emirates Media Incorporated, Chairman of the UAE Football Association (1993–2001), and as the Under Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Culture from 1995 to 1997.

Honours

• Albania: Order of Skanderbeg (decorated by President of Albania Bujar Nishani on 13 March 2016).
• United Kingdom: Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George.

Ancestry

References

References

1. "Key Members of Government".
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3. PTI. (2020-09-16). "Israel, UAE and Bahrain sign Abraham Accord; Trump says "dawn of new Middle East"". The Hindu.
4. "International media and knowledge centre inaugurated". fao.org.
5. "H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan".
6. "His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan". uaecabinet.ae.
7. (August 2025). "H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan". Emirates Diplomatic Academy.
8. (13 August 2017). "Exclusive: Tony Blair's Middle East envoy work secretly bankrolled by wealthy Arab state".
9. [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-emirates/uae-criticizes-colonial-role-of-iran-turkey-in-syria-idUSKCN1B91NM UAE criticizes 'colonial' role of Iran, Turkey in Syria]. Reuters. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
10. Ahren, Raphael. "In clip leaked by PMO, Arab ministers seen defending Israel, attacking Iran".
11. (2020-09-15). "Trump hails 'dawn of new Middle East' with UAE-Bahrain-Israel deals". [[BBC News]].
12. Crowley, Michael. (2020-09-15). "Trump Hosts Israel, U.A.E. and Bahrain at White House Signing Ceremony". [[The New York Times]].
13. (2022-02-26). "UAE foreign ministry calls for de-escalation in first official statement on Ukraine".
14. Report, Gulf News. (2025-01-07). "Abdullah bin Zayed receives Foreign Minister of Israel".
15. (February 2018). "The Changing Security Dynamics of the Persian Gulf". Google Books.
16. "Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation biography". mofaic.gov.ae.
17. "Presidenti Nishani dekoron Lartësinë e Tij Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan me Dekoratën "Gjergj Kastrioti Skënderbeu"".
18. "Honorary awards". assets.publishing.service.gov.uk.