David Heard: Remembering the man who made Abu Dhabi 'the place for me' for more than 60 years

As a newly minted science graduate specialising in geology and with a desire to see more of the world, the oil-rich countries of the Arabian Gulf had an obvious attraction for David Heard.

Not for him, though, were the cushioned life and home comforts of a gated expat compound, “a miniature British town with British people and all luxury facilities”, as he explained in a 2021 interview with the official news agency Wam. “I wanted something more exciting.”

Seeking adventure, Heard decided on Abu Dhabi, described to him by recruiters as “a rough place for tough people”. His response? “I said it's the place for me.”

It was to remain the place for him for the next 61 years, living and working here with his wife, Frauke Heard-Bey, and raising their three children until his death this month at the age of 85.

For six decades, the couple were witness to the enormous changes in the fortunes of Abu Dhabi and the UAE, and indeed were active participants, even invited by the Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to review the English translation of the county’s new constitution in 1971.

Over that time they made many friendships, from Zaki Nusseibeh, the former minister of state, to Adnan Pachachi, adviser to Sheikh Zayed, and Mohan Jashanmal, the businessman who encountered Heard when he arrived to open the first family store in 1964.

For newcomers, especially journalists, a visit to the couple’s Abu Dhabi villa was an essential stop to learn more about the culture and history of their new home.

David Heard, Abu Dhabi resident for 60 years, dies aged 85 – in pictures

Just how tough life might be in those early years became clear when Heard first touched down in the emirate in August 1963. The small company aircraft chartered by the Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company (ADPC) had developed engine problems and deposited its passengers on a desert emergency airstrip before flying away.

Eventually they were rescued and driven by Land Rover to the base camp in Tarif, where drilling operations were co-ordinated.

Abu Dhabi was in the first phase of its oil boom. Oil exports had only begun the previous year, and new fields were being discovered both on land and offshore.

The town was not yet a city, with no paved roads, electricity or telephone service. Drinking water was collected from a small desalination plant near the beach – the Corniche did not exist – and connecting to the wider world was via a narrow causeway across the Maqta Crossing.

It was a far cry from his life in England. Heard was born in a vicarage in Highgate, north London, and studied for his degree at the then new University of Keele. Before beginning his studies, in 1958 he had met a German girl, Frauke Bey, who was working at a guesthouse in the seaside resort of Bournemouth, hoping to improve her English.

Romance blossomed, although somewhat long distance. By 1966, Heard’s career and Abu Dhabi’s progress meant he was offered a move to the city and a company bungalow on the sea front. The following year he was joined by his new German bride.

He continued to work for the oil company and when, in 1971, the Abu Dhabi government partly nationalised ADPC, Heard became the liaison between the western oil companies, who retained 40 per cent of the holding, and the government. He would eventually join the Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council after retirement.

The intervening years saw the couple raise their son and two daughters and become deeply invested in life in their adopted home. His wife, a historian and political scientist with a doctorate from the Freie Universität of West Berlin, joined the fledgling National Archives set up by Sheikh Zayed and then based at Qasr Al Hosn.

Heard concentrated his efforts on the British School Al Khubairat, where he was chair of the board of governors for more than two decades. His son, Nicolas, became a governor at the school in 2019.

The couple were enthusiastic patrons of the arts, and familiar figures across all areas of Abu Dhabi society. Mr Nusseibeh called him “a friend who played over half a century a vital role in Abu Dhabi’s development. His memory will live on with us”.

NYUAD Institute said Heard was “a true friend” and “his legacy and insights will be missed”. A statement from the Adnoc Group said he “played a key role in the development of our nation’s energy industry”.

Sir Harold Walker, British ambassador to the UAE in the 1980s, called him “a much admired friend whose writings in retirement added enormously to the services he had given in his working life to [Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company and Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council], to British interests and to the interests of the UAE.”

In 1991 Heard was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth for services to the British community in Abu Dhabi, and in 1999 was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to relations between the UAE and UK.

An early member of The Club, established only a year before his arrival, Heard was also a member of the Travellers Club, the international affairs think tank Chatham House, the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and a fellow of the Energy Institute.

The couple also donated a collection of printed material to New York University Abu Dhabi, and several objects of historical significance to the new Zayed National Museum.

Back in 1995, Heard was asked by Ahmed Al Suwaidi, the UAE’s first minister of foreign affairs and a personal friend, to look into the country's history, as recorded in the archives of ADPC in London. Stepping down from the Petroleum Council in 2011, Heard began this last great task, a comprehensive history of oil in Abu Dhabi and the region from the 1930s.

The first of what would eventually be five volumes and six books was published as From Pearls To Oil in 2011. Meticulously researched, the final book in this epic series, History of the Oil Industry in the Gulf and the People Who Made it Happen, 1934-1966, was published earlier this month, with Heard giving a talk to an audience of 50 friends and Middle East experts.

By then Heard was undergoing specialist treatment for a rare cancer in Munich, where the couple had a second home. An operation appeared to have been successful and Heard and his wife were preparing to return to Abu Dhabi when he unexpectedly died on October 18. He will be buried in Snowdonia, Wales, where the couple had a holiday home for more than 40 years, followed by a memorial service in Abu Dhabi at a future date. He is survived by his wife and their children Nicolas, Theresa and Miriam.

David Heard, April 14, 1939 – October 18, 2024.