Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi

Saqr III bin Sultan Al Qasimi was the ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah from May 1951 to 24 June 1965.[1][2]

Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi
Sheikh
Ruler of Sharjah
ReignMay 1951–24 June 1965
PredecessorSultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II
SuccessorKhalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi
Born1924 (1924)
DiedNovember 9, 1993(1993-11-09) (aged 68–69)
IssueKhalid bin Saqr al Qasimi
Sultan bin Saqr al Qasimi (1947–)
HouseAl Qasimi
FatherSultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II

Saqr was the eldest son of Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II, who ruled 1924–51. After Sultan's death, Saqr became the ruler. Saqr was an Arab nationalist,[3] which undermined the British Empire's control of the Trucial States. In 1964, he supported the opening of an Arab League office in Sharjah, after a visit by an Arab League delegation lead by Abdul Khalek Hassouna, the Secretary-General at the time.[4] The British viewed this move as a threat, which lead the British administration to intervene and initiate the ouster of Saqr as the ruler Sharjah.[5] In 1965, Glencairn Paul, the British Political Agent in Dubai, was tasked to inform Saqr of his deposition.[6] Saqr was then exiled to Bahrain and eventually Cairo.[7] His cousin, Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi succeeded him.

On 24 January 1972, following soon after the creation of the United Arab Emirates on 2 December 1971, Saqr returned to Sharjah from Egypt with a number of mercenaries and seized power in an attempted coup. The group invested the Ruler's palace at approximately 2.30pm, with reports of gunfire and grenade explosions within the palace. Besieged by the Union Defence Force, which arrived an hour later, Saqr finally gave himself up in the early hours of 25 January to UAE Minister of Defence, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. However, Khalid was killed in the action[8] and Saqr's brother Ahmed was offered the position of UAE justice minister.

References
  1. Graca, John V. Da (25 November 1985). "Heads of State and Government". Springer. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  2. Joyce, Miriam. Ruling Shaikhs and Her Majesty's Government, 1960–1969: 1960–1969. Routledge. ISBN 9781135772536. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  3. Peck, Malcolm C. Historical Dictionary of the Gulf Arab States. Scarecrow Press. p. 260.
  4. Davidson, Christopher M. The United Arab Emirates: A Study in Survival. Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 158826274X.
  5. Barnwell, Kristi. "Overthrowing the Shaykhs: The Trucial States at the Intersection of Anti-Imperialism, Arab Nationalism, and Politics, 1952–1966". Journal of Arab Studies (Fall 2016).
  6. Ulrichsen, Kristian. The United Arab Emirates: Power, Politics and Policy-Making. Taylor & Francis. p. 47. ISBN 1317603109.
  7. De Butts, Freddie (1995). Now the Dust has Settled. Tabb House. ISBN 1873951132.
  8. Al Qasimi, Sultan bin Muhammad (2011). My Early Life. Bloomsbury. pp. 285–287. ISBN 9781408814208.
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