"Half a century of life in the UAE"

"Half a century of life in the UAE"

a talk with Dr. Frauke and David Heard-Bey house

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Frauke and David Heard-Bey who arrived in the UAE more than 50 years ago, will welcome our members into their home to telling them about their experience and what it was for them to spend half a century at the UAE.

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Frauke Heard-Bey studied history and political science in Heidelberg and Berlin. She received

her Ph.D. from the Freie Universität of West Berlin in 1967 and followed her husband David to Abu Dhabi in the same year. In 1969 Frauke joined the Centre for Documentation and Research in Abu Dhabi, part of the Presidential Court in the Qasr Al Hosn. The Centre specialized in collecting archival material about the Gulf. Frauke was with the Centre for 39 years, while it moved to a purpose-built place, but before the institution became the National Archive in 2014.

Frauke published extensively in English and German. Her book From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates: A Society in Transition has become a textbook for universities. Her latest book Abu Dhabi, The United Arab Emirates and the Gulf: Fifty Years of Transformation published in 2016 contains a collection of 30 articles, conference contributions and some autobiographical notes. It is available from Gerlach Press in Berlin and Amazon.

She was honoured with the Abu Dhabi Award in 2007.

David G. Heard, born in London UK in 1939, holds a Degree in Geology and Physics from Monkton Combe School. Bath UK, as well as a Degree in Geology and Physics from University of Keele. Staffordshire UK.

He worked with Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company as a Petrolium Engineer from 1963 to 2004.

Representative Abu Dhabi Petroleum Company in Abu Dhabi. 1980

Fellow of the Institute of Petroleum, now Energy Institute. London

Member of The Royal Society for Asian Affairs. London

25 years Member of The Society of Petroleum Engineers. USA

Member of The Royal Institute of International Affairs. London

Chairman Board of Governors, The British School Al Khubairat Abu Dhabi. 1983-2004

Decorated by Queen Elizabeth

Officer of The Order of the British Empire. OBE 1990

Commander of The Order of the British Empire CBE