UAE's Constitution Called Itself "Provisional" for Thirty-Four Years — Then One Meeting Quietly Deleted That Single Word
United Arab Emirates — Constitution Profile
| 📅 Signed | December 2, 1971 |
| 🏛️ Government | Federal Absolute Monarchy |
| 🌍 Capital | Abu Dhabi |
| 📄 Original Status | "Provisional Constitution" — for 34 years |
| ✏️ Made Permanent | 1996 |
| 👑 Founding President | Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan |
Calling a constitution "provisional" usually means a country expects to replace it soon — a placeholder while something more permanent gets negotiated. The UAE's founding charter wore that label for over three decades, governing one of the most rapidly transforming economies on Earth the entire time, before anyone formally got around to dropping the word.
The Whole Project Started Because Britain Decided to Leave
The UAE didn't come together out of some long-planned regional dream. It came together because a colonial power suddenly announced it was packing up and leaving. This desire intensified in early 1968 when Britain announced it would withdraw from the Gulf by the end of 1971 due to economic pressures. The decision created uncertainty and raised concerns of a political and security vacuum.
For one ruler in particular, that announcement wasn't a crisis to be managed — it was an opening to be seized. For the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE's Founding Father, the British withdrawal was not a setback but an opportunity. He believed deeply that the emirates shared common history, culture and destiny.
Two Rulers Sealed the Deal With a Handshake in the Middle of the Desert
The actual founding moment of the federation didn't happen in a palace or a conference hall. It happened on a hill, in the open desert, between two men who controlled the territory's largest fortunes. On 18 February, Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi and Sheikh Rashid of Dubai met at Argoub Al Sedirah, a hill in the desert between their emirates, and agreed on the principle of union.
That single agreement set off three and a half years of negotiation involving far more parties than just those two rulers. A subsequent meeting on 25 February with the rulers of Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain would lead to a proposal to create a Federation of Arab Emirates together with Bahrain and Qatar.
Nine Rulers Tried to Build One Country — Then Two of Them Walked Away
For a while, the plan was far more ambitious than the seven-emirate federation that exists today. Bahrain and Qatar were both originally meant to be part of the same union. Bahrain declared independence in August 1971 and Qatar followed suit in September 1971, choosing to go their own separate ways rather than join the federation taking shape around Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The disagreements that pushed them apart were never small or easily resolved. There was some disagreement among the rulers on matters such as the location of the capital, the drafting of a constitution and the distribution of ministries. Further political issues surfaced when Bahrain attempted to claim a leading role in the nine-state union, and differences emerged among the rulers. One historian summarized just how chaotic those negotiating sessions could get. The meetings were frequently stormy and threw up wildly divergent proposals.
The Signing Ceremony Was So Crowded the Rulers Had to Climb Out a Window
When the moment finally arrived to sign the founding document, the scene that unfolded was anything but the dignified, orderly ceremony you might picture for the birth of a nation. The crowd gathered at Union House was so packed that following the signing, the rulers had to leave through a window.
A British official present that day described it without any diplomatic softening at all. In the words of British Political Agent Julian Walker, "The treaty was signed amid a scene of confusion remarkable even by Arab standards. Photographers and pressmen were standing on the table and it was a little short of a miracle that nobody was injured and the documents were retrieved intact."
One Founding Ruler Refused to Sign and Held Out for Months Over Parliamentary Seats
Not every emirate joined the federation on the day it was officially proclaimed. Ras Al Khaimah was not initially a signatory to the Union treaty, Sheikh Saqr being dissatisfied with Ras Al Khaimah being given 6 seats in the parliamentary assembly, whereas Abu Dhabi and Dubai had 8 seats besides the power of joint veto.
What ultimately changed his mind wasn't a better seat count — it was a regional crisis that made standing alone look far riskier than joining on the existing terms. Following the Iranian annexation of the islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa and the assassination of Sheikh Khalid bin Muhammad of Sharjah in January 1971, he decided to accede on February 10, 1972.
The New Country's First Capital Project Was Supposed to Be a Brand New City. It Was Never Built.
The original constitutional text didn't simply designate an existing city as the seat of government — it planned to construct an entirely new one from scratch, in the empty space between the federation's two most powerful members. A provision of the 1971 constitution was the establishment of a new capital city for the federation to be built between Dubai and Abu Dhabi and to be called Karama (Dignity). This provision was never enacted.
The young federation had bigger, more basic problems to solve first. A program of nation-building followed; the new nation had no ministries or other formal government bodies, no national infrastructure (roads, telecom, education, and finance) or national currency.
Even Joining the Federation Didn't End the Power Struggles Inside It
Forming a union on paper didn't immediately settle the internal disputes simmering between rival branches of ruling families. Barely six weeks after the federation was complete, one emirate saw an armed attempt to forcibly seize its throne. The former ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi, and an armed group supported by Ras Al Khaimah forced his way into the palace of Sharjah ruler Sheikh Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi on 24 January 1972, occupied it, and demanded to be recognized as the ruler of Sharjah. The new federal structure was barely weeks old and already being tested from inside one of its own founding members.
For Thirty-Four Years, the Country Ran on a Document That Called Itself Temporary
What's genuinely remarkable about the UAE's constitutional story is how long the founding document operated under a label suggesting it was never meant to last. A Provisional Constitution was adopted based on amended drafts prepared during earlier negotiations. It consisted of 152 articles, setting out the structure of the federal government while allowing individual Emirates to retain local authority.
It wasn't until a quarter-century later that the word "provisional" was finally dropped from the country's supreme law. In a meeting held on May 20, 1996, the Federal Supreme Council approved a draft amendment that made the country's Provisional Constitution the permanent Constitution of the UAE and named Abu Dhabi as the capital of the federation. A nation that had already built skyscrapers, founded a national oil company, and become a major global trade hub had been doing all of it under a constitution that, on paper, was still calling itself a draft.
Constitution at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Zayed–Rashid Desert Meeting | February 18, 1968 |
| Dubai Constitutional Conference | February 25–27, 1968 |
| Six Emirates Sign Provisional Constitution | July 18, 1971 |
| Federation Formally Proclaimed | December 2, 1971 |
| Ras Al Khaimah Joins | February 10, 1972 |
| Total Original Articles | 152 |
| "Provisional" Status Removed | May 20, 1996 |
| Founding President | Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan |
| Founding Vice President | Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum |
| Number of Emirates | 7 |
📥 Read the Constitution of the UAE
Read the complete, official English text of the Constitution of the United Arab Emirates:
👉 Read the Constitution of the UAE — Full Text
A founding document that called itself temporary for thirty-four years. A signing ceremony so crowded the rulers had to climb out a window. A capital city written into law that was never actually built. What part of the UAE's story surprised you most? Tell us in the comments below.
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