Sheikh Ahmed bin Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi (; 1948 – 9 July 2020) was an Emirati royal and politician who served as Deputy Ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah from 1990 until his death. A member of the ruling Al Qasimi family of Sharjah, he was a son of Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II, Ruler of Sharjah from 1924 to 1951, and a brother of Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi, who ruled the emirate from 1951 to 1965.
One of the statesmen of the UAE's founding era, Ahmed bin Sultan joined the country's first cabinet in the reshuffle of 19 February 1972 as minister of justice; he retained the justice portfolio in the second cabinet of 1973, then served as a minister of state in the 1977 and 1979 formations, remaining in the government until the formation of the fifth cabinet on 20 November 1990. That year, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, appointed him Deputy Ruler, a post he held for some thirty years. He also chaired Sharjah's Petroleum Department (later known as the Petroleum Council), chaired the board of the Sharjah Liquefied Gas Company (SHALCO), and was honorary chairman of Dana Gas.
Early life Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi was born in Sharjah in 1948 into the emirate’s ruling house: his father, Sheikh Sultan bin Saqr Al Qasimi II, ruled Sharjah from 1924 until 1951. His brothers included Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah from 1951 to 1965, and Sheikh Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, the UAE's first minister of public works and father of the incumbent Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi.
Career Cabinet Upon the establishment of the United Arab Emirates, Federal Decree No. 2 of 1971 formed the country's first council of ministers on 9 December 1971, headed by Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In the second reshuffle of that cabinet, on 19 February 1972, Ahmed bin Sultan was appointed minister of justice.
He retained the justice portfolio in the second cabinet formed in 1973. During his tenure, Federal Law No. 10 of 1973 establishing the Federal Supreme Court was promulgated "on the proposal of the Minister of Justice". In that capacity, he also led a delegation to Baghdad from 20 to 22 September 1973, announcing on his return that the Iraqi authorities had agreed to second a number of Iraqi judges and magistrates to work temporarily in the UAE. He was then appointed a minister of state in the third formation of 1977, continuing in that role in the fourth formation of 1979 — contemporary reference works list him among the UAE's ministers of state through the mid-1980s — and he remained a member of the cabinet until the fifth ministerial formation of 20 November 1990, after which he devoted himself to his responsibilities in Sharjah.
Deputy Ruler of Sharjah In 1990 the Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, Supreme Council Member, named Ahmed bin Sultan his deputy — a position he would occupy for the next three decades, until his death in 2020. He appeared alongside the Ruler at the emirate's official and social occasions, receiving well-wishers with him at the Eid receptions at Al Badi Palace, attending the Ruler's official meetings such as Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's visit to Al Badi Palace in 2012, and in 1994 he opened the Early Intervention Centre at Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services. The Sharjah Government Media Bureau's obituary described him as a man who had been devoted to national service from his early youth and a witness to the emirate's eras of growth and development.
Energy sector Ahmed bin Sultan was closely associated with Sharjah's oil and gas sector for decades. The UAE's official chronicle for 1982 records him as chairman of Sharjah's Department of Petroleum and Minerals, and he went on to chair the emirate's Petroleum Department — later known as the Petroleum Council — the body overseeing Sharjah's petroleum and mineral affairs. During the period in which he chaired the department, Sharjah signed a petroleum concession with Amoco in November 1978, the Sajaa field was discovered in December 1980, the Sajaa gas plant was inaugurated in 1982, and the Sharjah Liquefied Gas Company (SHALCO) was established in 1984.
As Deputy Ruler and chairman of the Sharjah Petroleum Council, he witnessed on 12 March 2008 the signing of a 25-year concession agreement with Dana Gas for the Sharjah Western Offshore area, covering more than , and on 7 November 2013 the transfer of BP's 40 per cent stake in the Sajaa operations to the Government of Sharjah. He led SHALCO's board and served as honorary chairman of the Sharjah-based natural-gas producer Dana Gas.
Death Ahmed bin Sultan died in London on Thursday, 9 July 2020; his death was announced by the Sharjah Ruler's Court, and the Ministry of Presidential Affairs issued a statement of mourning. The Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, led the funeral prayer on Friday, 10 July 2020, and Ahmed bin Sultan was buried at Al Jubail Cemetery in Sharjah; a three-day official mourning period was declared, with flags flown at half-mast.
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