Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi (1943/1944 – September 1, 2011) was a

Bahrain Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. Situated on the Persian Gulf, it comprises a small archipelago of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island, which mak ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

opposition leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. Al-Nuaimi, who spent more than thirty years in self-imposed

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

from

, founded some of the country's most important political opposition groups.

Biography

He was born in 1944 on

Muharraq island Muharraq Island (), formerly known as Moharek, is the second largest island in the archipelago of Bahrain after Bahrain Island. It lies east of the capital, Manama, on Bahrain Island. History The island is named after Muharraq City, the form ...

to the Sunni Al Nuaim family that has close ties to the traditional ruling circles. In the 1960s, he became increasingly politically active and joined the

Arab Nationalist Movement The Arab Nationalist Movement (, ''Harakat al-Qawmiyyin al-Arab''), also known as the Movement of Arab Nationalists and the Harakiyyin, was a pan-Arab nationalist organization influential in much of the Arab world, particularly within the Pales ...

. In 1966, he graduated from the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB; ) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its main campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, autonomous board of trustees and offers programs le ...

with a degree in mechanical engineering. After a crackdown on the workers' movements at the power station where he was working in 1968, he left Bahrain to live in exile, spending 33 years in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. He founded the Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain (PFLB), a

resistance group A resistance movement is an organized group of people that tries to resist or try to overthrow a government or an occupying power, causing disruption and unrest in civil order and stability. Such a movement may seek to achieve its goals through ei ...

, during the 1970s. The groups was inspired by the Arab Nationalist Movement which was sweeping though the

Arab World The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

at the time. In 2001, al-Nuaimi returned to Bahrain from exile and re-entered politics. He founded the

National Democratic Action Society The National Democratic Labour Action Society – Wa'ad (, NDAS) is Bahrain's largest leftist political party. History and profile It emerged from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, a Marxist-Leninist armed opposition movement ...

(NDA, also known as the Wa'ad party), Bahrain's largest

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

, with members of the former PFLB. Al-Nuaimi ran for a seat in the

Council of Representatives of Bahrain The Council of Representatives (''Majlis an-nuwab''), sometimes translated as the "Chamber of Deputies", is the name given to the lower house of the Bahraini National Assembly, the national legislative body of Bahrain. The council was created b ...

during the 2006 parliamentary election, but lost to a pro-government candidate by a small margin. Abdulrahman al-Nuaimi suffered from deteriorating health in the mid-2000s. He fell into a

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

in April 2007. He was succeeded as head of the National Democratic Action Society by

Ibrahim Sharif Ibrahim Sharif al-Sayed () is an opposition political activist in Bahrain, currently serving as the General Secretary of the secular socialist National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad).

. Al-Nuaimi remained in a coma until his death on September 1, 2011, aged 67.

References

1940s births 2011 deaths American University of Beirut alumni Bahraini Arab nationalists Bahraini dissidents Bahraini exiles Bahraini left-wing activists Bahraini Sunni Muslims National Democratic Action Society politicians {{Bahrain-politician-stub