Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

In this Arabic name, the surname is Al Maktoum.
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
  • محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم
Sheikh Mohammed in 2021
Vice President of the United Arab Emirates
Incumbent
Assumed office
5 January 2006
Serving with Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan (2023–present)
President
Preceded byMaktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
4th Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 February 2006
President
Deputies
Preceded byMaktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Minister of Defence
In office
9 December 1971 – 2020
President
Preceded byPost established
Succeeded byvacant
Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum (in 2024)
President of the United Arab Emirates
Acting
In office
13 May 2022 – 14 May 2022
Preceded byKhalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Succeeded byMohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Ruler of Dubai
Incumbent
Assumed office
4 January 2006
Preceded byMaktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Heir apparentHamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum
Born (1949-07-15) 15 July 1949 (age 75)
Dubai, Trucial States
SpouseSee list
IssueSee list
Names
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher bin Maktoum bin Butti bin Suhail
HouseAl Maktoum
FatherRashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
MotherLatifa bint Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan
ReligionIslam
Police career
DepartmentDubai Police Force
Service years1968–1970
RankHead of Dubai Police and Public Security
WebsiteOfficial website

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Arabic: محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم, romanized: Muḥammad bin Rāšid Āl Maktūm; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the vice president and prime minister of the UAE.[1] Mohammed succeeded his brother Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum as UAE vice president, UAE prime minister, and ruler of Dubai following the latter's death in 2006.[2]

A billionaire,[3] Mohammed generates most of his income from real estate and is described as "one of the world's most prominent real estate developers". There is a blurred line between the assets of the government of Dubai and those of the ruling Al Maktoum family.[4] Land which is owned by him is managed as an asset of the state.[4] He oversaw the growth of Dubai into a global city,[5][6] as well as the launch of a number of government-owned enterprises including Emirates Airline, DP World, and the Jumeirah Group. Some of these are held by Dubai Holding. Mohammed has overseen the development of certain projects in Dubai, such as the Palm Islands[7] and the Burj Al Arab hotel, as well as Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world as of 2024.[8]

Mohammed is the absolute ruler of Dubai and the prime minister of the UAE,[9] a position appointed by the president.[10] The government is autocratic.[11][12][13][14][15][16]

On 5 March 2020, a British court ruled that on the balance of probabilities, Mohammed had abducted two of his daughters, Shamsa and Latifa, and had threatened his former wife, the Jordanian princess Haya bint Hussein.[17] Allegedly, Shamsa and Latifa were forcibly medicated while held in Dubai under Mohammed's orders since 2000 and 2018, respectively.[18] On 16 February 2021, BBC's Panorama broadcast a documentary featuring Latifa's video messages that she made secretly under enforced detention in Dubai on her father's orders.[19][20]

Mohammed is an equestrian and is the founder of the Maktoum family-owned Godolphin stable and the owner of Darley, a thoroughbred breeding operation, operational in six countries. In 2012, he rode the horse Madji Du Pont 160 km to take the FEI World Endurance Championship.[21]

  1. ^ "Dubai Rulers". Government of Dubai. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  2. ^ Pranay Gupte (January 2011). Dubai: The Making of a Megapolis. Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184755046. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :17 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Herb, Michael (2014). The Wages of Oil: Parliaments and Economic Development in Kuwait and the UAE. Cornell University Press. pp. 110–111. ISBN 978-0-8014-5336-6. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1287d29. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum: Who is Dubai's ruler?". BBC News. 16 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  6. ^ Analysis, Andrew Hammond- (27 November 2009). ""Dubai model" was the vision of one man". Reuters. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  7. ^ "In Dubai, the Sky's No Limit". Los Angeles Times. 13 October 2005. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Dubai ruler has big ideas for the little city-state". www.ft.com. 3 May 2007. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum: Who is Dubai's ruler?". BBC News. 16 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  10. ^ "About the Government | UAE Embassy in Washington, DC". www.uae-embassy.org. Archived from the original on 21 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  11. ^ "Standing still but still standing". The Economist. 26 November 2009. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  12. ^ Callaghan, Louise. "Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum of Dubai: six wives, 30 children and a 14-year reign of control". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Dubai faces self-made public image 'disaster'". www.ft.com. 2009. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  14. ^ Marozzi, Justin (2019). Islamic Empires: Fifteen Cities that Define a Civilization. Penguin UK. ISBN 978-0-241-19905-3. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2021. There is no free speech in Dubai... criticism of the ruling family, or any other political activity, is absolutely prohibited... Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai
  15. ^ Herb, Michael (2014). The Wages of Oil: Parliaments and Economic Development in Kuwait and the UAE. Cornell University Press. pp. 50, 128. ISBN 978-0-8014-5336-6. JSTOR 10.7591/j.ctt1287d29. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021. The scores for the UAE on these measures are not unreasonable; it is an authoritarian regime... Sheikh Rashid, the ruler of Dubai, was made the prime minister of the federation
  16. ^ Yom, Sean (2019). Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa: Development, Democracy, and Dictatorship. Routledge. pp. Box 17.4. ISBN 978-0-429-75639-9. Archived from the original on 19 February 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  17. ^ "Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed abducted daughters and threatened wife – UK court". BBC News. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  18. ^ "WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Dubai royal insider breaks silence on escaped princesses | 60 Minutes Australia". Archived from the original on 20 September 2001 – via www.youtube.com.
  19. ^ Panorama - The Missing Princess, archived from the original on 17 February 2021, retrieved 17 February 2021
  20. ^ Siddique, Haroon (24 March 2022). "Dubai ruler to have no direct contact with two children after UK court battle". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  21. ^ Narayan, Satya (25 August 2012). "Mohammed is new world endurance champion". Gulf News. Archived from the original on 5 September 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.