The late H.H. Shaikh Zayid Bin Sultan Al Nahyan bequeathed a stable, prosperous, and enterprising state, populated by contented citizens who took pride in their homeland, well-equipped defense forces, and increasing international prestige as a direct result of his personal activities since the foundation of the UAE in 1971. All of these factors can (and have) been measured. However, the retrospective section of this volume considers the intangible and indirect effects of Shaikh Zayid's life and work that will continue to generate benefits for the foreseeable future.

An examination of Shaikh Zayid's long career – thirty-eight years from the time that he became ruler of Abu Dhabi – shows how patiently he developed a set of consistent themes which endured over and above the essential activities undertaken by every state in the areas of defense, the economy, and international relations which he also handled with consummate skill and insight, as earlier chapters have illustrated. However, he also undertook major developments that are not the concern of every state and which, in the early years of his rule, outsiders sometimes considered unnecessary distractions from the lofty issues of economics and politics. They were mistaken, of course, on every count, and Shaikh Zayid's active social conscience has been the foundation of an enduring nation that has no equal in the region, or indeed elsewhere in the world.