Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, أحمد بن زايد آل نهيان, 1968 – 26 March 2010) was an Emirati businessman and the managing director of the

Abu Dhabi Investment Authority The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority ( ar, جهاز أبوظبي للاستثمار, ADIA) is a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (in the United Arab Emirates) founded for the purpose of investing funds on behalf of the Go ...

Early life and education

Ahmed was born in 1968. He was one of Sheikh

Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan ( ar, زَايِد بِن سُلْطَان آل نَهْيَان, Zāyed bin Sulṭān Āl Nahyān; 6 May 1918 – 2 November 2004) was an Emirati politician, statesman, and philanthropist who served as ...

's 19 sons. His mother was Sheika Mouza. He had four full brothers, including Sheikh Saif and Sheikh Hamed. Sheikh Ahmed was a graduate of the United Arab Emirates University.

Career

Sheikh Ahmed joined the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in 1994 and worked there as a European equities analyst. He became its managing director and board member in November 1997. His full-brother Hamed bin Zayed replaced him as ADIA managing director in April 2010. He served as Interior Minister of the United Arab Emirates in 2004. In 2007, Ahmed was appointed the Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance and Industry. Sheikh Ahmed also served as chairman of the board of trustees of the Zayed Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works. In addition, he was a member of the Supreme Petroleum Council.

Alliances and influence

Sheikh Ahmed had been a close ally of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed since the latter was crown prince. In 2009, Sheikh Ahmed was regarded as the 27th most powerful person in the world by ''Forbes''.

Death and funeral

Ahmed was reported missing on 26 March 2010 after the

ultralight aircraft Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

in which he was learning to fly disappeared while flying in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...

. Soon after, the plane was found to have crashed into the lake Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, near the Moroccan capital,

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populatio ...

. Sheikh Ahmed's family, the Al Nahyan, have a residence on the shore of that lake, where Ahmed used to come often. The craft's Spanish pilot, his flight instructor Julio López, survived the accident and was quickly rescued. Ahmed's body was only recovered from the crash site four days later on 30 March, despite an intensive search by helicopters and divers from several countries. He was 41. His body was returned to Abu Dhabi and funeral prayers for him were performed on 31 March at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. His body was buried in the Al Bateen cemetery.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahyan, Ahmed Bin Zayed Al 1968 births 2010 deaths United Arab Emirates University alumni Accidental deaths in Morocco Industry ministers of the United Arab Emirates Interior ministers of the United Arab Emirates Ahmed Bin Zayed Al Place of birth missing Emirati billionaires Children of presidents of the United Arab Emirates Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Morocco Sons of monarchs