Sheikh Shakhbout ibn Sultan Al Nahyan

Sheikh Shakhbout ibn Sultan Al Nahyan (born 1905, Abu Dhabi—died February 11, 1989, Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) was the ruler of the emirate of Abu Dhabi from 1928 until he was deposed in 1966.

As ruler of the largest emirate within the British-controlled Trucial Coast (now United Arab Emirates), Shakhbout maintained friendly relations with the United Kingdom and successfully resisted territorial incursions in a prolonged border dispute with Saudi Arabia. He was an early supporter of Western oil exploration and granted drilling rights that earned Abu Dhabi as much as $70 million per year in the mid-1960s. He was reluctant to invest the emirate’s oil earnings in schools and major development projects, however, and was standoffish toward cooperative efforts with the other Trucial States. On August 6, 1966, a council of the Abu Dhabi royal Nahyan family replaced him with his more progressive younger brother, Sheikh Zayed ibn Sultan. After four years in exile, Shakhbout returned to the royal palace.