Rekindling fond memories of an icon
- 30 Jan 2022
Gulf Today
Every year on January 30, since 2014, the memory of a legend is rekindled. For those who had a brush with the stalwart of statesmanship and enterprise, It is filled with poignant memories.
It is the day when Dr. Abdullah Omran Taryam, a pioneer of thought, culture and media, and a towering politician not just of the nation but in the region as well, breathed his last.
The renowned newspaper owner was a powerhouse of fiery and trailblazing journalism who never knuckled under pressure.
His principles were of industrial strength, and he would not budge from his stance on any issue he strongly believed in.
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Along with his late brother Taryam Omran Taryam, he played a key role in not just the foundation of the Union, but also in the establishment of the flagship publishing firm Dar Al Khaleej for Press, Printing and Publishing, which he chaired after the death of his brother in 2002.
He served as the Minister of Justice and Minister of Education, shaping policies for future generations.
Dr. Abdullah Omran Taryam was a fortress of statesmanship, a bastion of generosity, and a citadel of patriotism.
Today, 8 years have passed since the death of the icon, who was very vocal on issues of truth, justice, honour, and noble values in his life.
Those close to him, his loved ones, friends and acquaintanes still bear an unending longing for him, missing his father-figure like presence. However, in everything that was said about him, there was a consensus that he was a fortress of statesmanship, a bastion of generosity, and a citadel of patriotism who had deep faith in pan-Arabism.
Dr. Abdullah Omran Taryam was born in the Emirate of Sharjah in 1948. He received his primary, preparatory and secondary education in schools of Sharjah and Kuwait, and completed his university education in Egypt, specifically at the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in History in 1966, and then a PhD in History from the University of Exeter, UK, in 1986.
Before the foundation of the Union, Dr. Abdullah Taryam worked as a teacher at Al Orouba High School in Sharjah for two years, then as director of the Sharjah Knowledge Department, from 1968 to 1971.
During that time, he was, with his late brother Taryam, one of the pioneers who contributed to founding the UAE, as he was a member of the Nine and Seven Negotiations Team.
He served as Minister of Justice in the first federal government from 1971-1972. In 1972, he assumed the Ministry of Education, until 1979.
During that period, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan entrusted him with establishing the UAE University.
He was the first supreme president of the university. He also worked as an adviser to Sheikh Zayed, striving to develop many curricula and methods of education and study.
He was Minister for Justice again from 1990 to 1997. During that period, within his ministerial team, he drafted many legislations that had a great impact in boosting the legislative structure of the UAE in various legal fields.
The great leap in the professional career and history of the late Dr. Abdullah and Taryam Omran was the founding of Al Khaleej newspaper in 1970.
After their return from Cairo in 1968, they embarked on journalism, as they launched Al Shrouq, a monthly political magazine, which they were printing in Kuwait due to the lack of proper printing presses in Sharjah and the Trucial Emirates.
In the last week of every month, Taryam Omran and Youssef Al Hassan used to carry the press material, the articles written in Sharjah to Kuwait, and come back with a printed magazine.
With the good and influential feedback achieved by the magazine through its issues and success, they founded Al Khaleej, which was issued on October 19, 1970.
Like Al Shrouq, under very difficult circumstances, Al Khaleej was also printed in Kuwait.
What cannot be forgotten was the acclaimed newspaper owner’s words about the Arab media and the nation’s issues: “The Arab media has developed over the past decades in form as well as content, expressing the cultural progress that took place in its various fields, reflecting the educational development witnessed by the Arab region, and revealing global and local social, political and economic transformations.”
Memories of the distinguished statesman will linger forever. The pathbreaking stamp of his contribution not only to Dar Al Khaleej but also to the nation will be etched always in our minds. May his soul Rest in Peace.
