Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (national Security Advisor)

Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 4 December 1968) is an Emirati politician and the National Security Advisor of United Arab Emirates since 2016. At the same time he manages a business portfolio, which supports national security interests and the UAE's opaque corporate sector. He chairs G42 and MGX.

He is part of the ruling family in Abu Dhabi, brother of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Tahnoun has been involved in numerous controversies, from violating EU sanctions against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, spying on political opponents in Project Raven, deals to re-sell Russia's Sputnik vaccine to poor countries at substantial mark-ups, orchestrating the Qatargate bribery case, and a smear campaign against Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood, as revealed 2023 in the Abu Dhabi Secrets.

Following the succession of Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Tahnoun was speculated by media to be a possible choice for the position of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

Early life and education

Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan was born to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi.
He has five brothers: Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President and Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE's foreign minister. Tahnoon was educated in part at Hurtwood House in Holmbury St Mary, UK, from 1975 to 1977.

Career

In 1992, he founded First Gulf Bank.
From 2009 to 2013, he was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Presidential Aviation Authority. In March 2013 President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan appointed him as a deputy national security advisor.

In February 2016 he was appointed as national security advisor. On 18 August 2020 Sheikh Tahnoun received Yossi Cohen, the Head of Israeli Intelligence Agency, Mossad after the UAE–Israel peace accord.

As of 2021, Tahnoun was chairman of Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), a state holding company worth $110 billion, First Abu Dhabi Bank, the UAE's largest lender, Royal Group (a conglomerate) and International Holding Company. He chairs G42, an artificial intelligence company founded 2018.

In 2023, Tahnoun's IHC established an investment unit, Lunate, which took over the management of G42's China-focused fund, 42X Fund. Lunate formed a small team of more than 160 people, and was overseen by TbZ. However, the fund became questionable due to G42's assurance to the US that it will divest from China.

Personal life

Tahnoun is married to Khawla Ahmed Khalifa Alsuwaidi, a poet and master calligrapher. Like her husband she uses shell companies to own real estate in affluent parts of London.

He has two children, Sheikha Fatima and Sheikh Zayed.

Tahnoun is a practitioner and patron of martial arts, especially Brazilian jiu-jitsu. In 1998, he created the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship alongside his BJJ instructor Nelson Monteiro.

Controversies

Violation of EU sanctions against Assad

In August 2020, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reported about the Donald Trump administration of imposing sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, targeting financial-support networks aiding the President from outside the country, to coerce Damascus into peace talks. According to financial records reviewed by ''The Wall Street Journal'', Sheikh Tahnoun deposited about $200,000 into the bank accounts held by the niece of Syrian President Assad, Aniseh Shawkat, over a period of several years as her sponsor. The UK authorities seized several of these bank accounts in 2019, claiming that hundreds of thousands of dollars deposited into her accounts helped circumvent European Union’s sanctions against the Syrian government funds. Sheikh Tahnoun, Aniseh Shawkat and her attorney Zubair Ahmad did not respond when reached out for comment.

Project Raven

The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States was condemned for spying on all nations in the Arab world and Middle East region, except the UAE, despite the Gulf nation having hired former CIA officials for its Project Raven to spy on political targets, including several Americans in 2014. Sheikh Tahnoun was the Deputy National Security Advisor of UAE at the time.

Multiple ex-CIA officials told Reuters that the agency does not gather "human intelligence" from the UAE informant because it shares common enemies with the United States. Retired CIA official "Norman Roule" defended the US for not spying on the Emirates, stating that the actions committed by Abu Dhabi have "contributed to the war on terror, particularly against al-Queda aedain Yemen."

Re-selling COVID-19 vaccines

Sheik Tahnoun runs the Royal Group, which is a UAE conglomerate. In 2021, the company was involved in controversial deals to re-sell Russia's Sputnik vaccine to poor countries at substantial mark-ups.

Pandora Papers

In October 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released the Pandora Papers based on over 11.9 million documents, which mentioned the name of Tahnoun bin Zayed, alongside Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Qatargate scandal

In December 2022, Qatar denied its involvement in the Qatargate bribery case and accused the UAE of orchestrating the scandal. According to European Union correspondent Jack Parrock Qatari government officials believe that the scandal against Qatar has been planned by the UAE. The Italian news site Dagospia alleged that it was Tahnoun who executed the scandal against Qatar and provided tips to Belgium, which opened the investigation.

Abu Dhabi Secrets

In 2023, an investigation, termed Abu Dhabi Secrets, was released. The investigation revealed that Mario Brero provided the UAE with a list of over 1,000 individuals and 400 organizations in Europe, including over 200 individuals and 120 organizations in France, who were falsely linked to radical Islam. According to ''The New Yorker'', Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed was involved in the smear campaign against Qatar and the Muslim Brotherhood as well.

Dealings with gold smugglers

A unit of Sheikh Tahnoun's IHC, International Resources Holding (IRH) acquired Zambia's Mopani copper mine under its chief global strategist, Sibtein Alibhai. Following that deal, IRH started looking for mining deals in Africa and other places aggressively. The United Nations investigators alleged that Alibhai and IRH approached and had meetings with several gold smugglers from Democratic Republic of Congo. The Congo government said most of the smuggled gold ends up in the UAE.

2025 Washington visit

On 18 March 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan for a banquet dinner at the White House. Discussions focused on strengthening economic and technological ties, with a major emphasis on artificial intelligence, a key priority for Sheikh Tahnoun. Analysts noted that more sensitive topics were also addressed. Leaked reports revealed that during closed-door meetings, Sheikh Tahnoun sought Trump’s support on several fronts: shielding the UAE from potential international sanctions and an ICJ investigation into its alleged support for the RSF militia in Sudan; backing Israel’s airstrikes in Syria aimed at regional destabilization; and facilitating plans to transform Gaza into an Emirati-controlled economic zone under the guise of reconstruction.

Campaign against Nasser Al-Khelaifi

The Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), which is chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun, was speculated as responsible for the campaign against Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The campaign was initiated by ''Complément d'enquête'' and amplified by networks like the French sport streaming service, RMC Sports. Majorly involved in pushing the agenda, RMC Sports is a subsidiary of Altice France, which is owned by Patrick Drahi. The French-Israeli billionaire maintains connection with the UAE through ADQ.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nahyan, Tahnoun Zayed Sultan
Tahnoun Zayed Sultan
Children of presidents of the United Arab Emirates
Living people
1971 births
People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu
People named in the Pandora Papers
Sons of monarchs
Founders of sporting institutions