A Tribute to Sheikh Saqr (1920 - 2010)

Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, died on October 27, 2010. He was 90. Having ruled the emirate since 1948, he had been the second-longest serving ruler in the world -- after the king of Thailand -- and the world's oldest living ruler. During his reign, Sheikh Saqr transformed Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, from a poverty-stricken land relying on fishing and subsistence agriculture to a thriving, modern center of manufacturing, tourism and foreign investment.

His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr al Qasimi was appointed Supreme Council member and new Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah immediately after Sheikh Saqr's passing. Sheikh Saud has served as Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler since 2003, and follows in his father's footsteps with his strong commitment to the development of Ras Al Khaimiah. Sheikh Saud immediately announced 40 days of mourning in the emirate.

Sheikh Saqr was born in 1920, the son of the leader of a branch of the powerful Qasimi tribe. When he assumed power of Ras Al Khaimah at the age of 28 in 1948, it was a British protectorate. He unified the emirate by bringing together several tribes scattered over its territory. According to an official biography released on the 60th anniversary of his rule, eyewitnesses recalled him solving a conflict "between two heavily armed warring tribes with the power of his advice and judgement."

When he became the Ruler, Ras Al Khaimah was economically destitute, in part because of the collapse of its traditional pearling industry. Under his leadership, at first the emirate relied on its strongest asset, agriculture. Sheikh Saqr improved water supplies, encouraged cultivation of crops and livestock farming. In 1955, he built an experimental farm and an agricultural research station. By the time of its independence from Great Britain in 1968, the emirate had electricity, telephones, paved roads and modern hospitals. Its first limestone quarries also opened, facilitating the development of a cement industry which has since become vitally important to the emirate's economy.

With Sheikh Saqr's guidance, Ras Al Khaimah's fortunes continued to improve and its economic base steadily diversified. By the year 2000, it had attracted the highest capital investment in the UAE's industrial sector. One of its success stories is RAK Ceramics, the world's largest manufacturer of ceramic tiles. Its tourism industry is also thriving. Working closely with his son Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, who was named Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler in 2003, Sheikh Saqr worked tirelessly to reform and improve Ras Al Khaimah's economy, infrastructure, education and health care systems.

Sheik Saqr was especially passionate about education. In the 1950s and 1960s, he developed the emirate's school system, ensuring that people in the emirate's mountains and villages got the same education as those in the cities. Eyewitnesses recall that "he would tell the parents that if they desisted from sending their children to school, they would face imprisonment."

Sheikh Saqr also played an important role in the region. He was twice elected as a chairman of the "Trucial State Council" of Gulf states between 1965 and 1971. The UAE was formed in 1971 and Ras Al Khaimah became the seventh and final member of the federation in February of 1972.