Background and career
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. He is the current ruler of Dubai and serves as the vice president and prime minister of the UAE. 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. Under his leadership, Dubai became a global city. A number of government-owned enterprises have been launched, including the Emirates airline, DP World and the Jumeirah Group. Mohammed oversaw the development of Palm Islands, the establishment of Burj Al Arab hotel and the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world since 2010. Mohammed is the absolute ruler of Dubai and the prime minister of the UAE, a position appointed by the president. Mohammed is an accomplished equestrian and the founder of both the Godolphin stable and Darley Racing, a thoroughbred breeding operation in six countries. In 2012, he rode the horse Madji Du Pont 160 km to take the FEI World Endurance Championship.
Sheikh Mohammed is the third of four sons of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai. The Al Maktoum family is Dubai's ruling family and descendants of the House of Al-Falasi, of which Mohammed is the tribal leader. His mother was Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, daughter of former ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan. He grew up in a house without electricity. A hundred people or more lived there, including guards and maids.
From the age of four, Mohammed was privately tutored in Arabic and Islamic Studies. In 1955, he began formal education at Al Ahmedia School. At the age of 10, he moved to Al Shaab School, and two years later, attended Dubai Secondary School. In 1966, with his cousin Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, he attended the Bell Educational Trust's English Language School in the United Kingdom. He subsequently studied at the Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, passing out with the sword of honour as the top Commonwealth student. He also travelled to Italy to train as a pilot.
Upon Mohammed's return to Dubai from military training at age 20, his father, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, appointed him as the head of the Dubai Police Force and the Dubai Defence Force (which later became a part of the Union Defence Force).
In January 1968, Mohammed was present when his father and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan first met in the desert between Dubai and Abu Dhabi at Argoub El Sedira to agree to the formation of a union of emirates following British notification of intent to withdraw from the Trucial States. When the new country of the United Arab Emirates was founded on 2 December 1971, Mohammed became its first minister of defence at the age of 22. A period of uncertainty and instability followed the Union of the United Arab Emirates, including skirmishes between tribes over property, straddling new borders. On 24 January 1972, the exiled former ruler of the Emirate of Sharjah, Sheikh Saqr bin Sultan Al Qasimi, led an insurrectionist coup against his successor, Khalid bin Mohammed Al Qasimi. Following a spirited firefight between the Union Defence Force and Sheikh Saqr's forces – mostly Egyptian mercenaries who had entered the UAE through Ras Al Khaimah – Mohammed accepted Saqr's surrender. Sheikh Khalid had been killed in the action, leading to the accession of his brother Sultan as ruler of Sharjah. Mohammed delivered Saqr to UAE president Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who put Saqr under house arrest in Al Ain. In 1973, Mohammed was involved in protracted negotiations with the hijackers of JAL 404, led by Japanese Red Army member Osamu Maruouka, which landed in Dubai after being hijacked as it departed Schiphol Airport. Although unsuccessful in obtaining the release of the hostages (they were finally freed, and the 747 blown up, in Libya), he was more successful in a later negotiation with the three hijackers of KLM 861, who released the balance of their hostages and handed over the plane in return for safe passage. In 1977, Mohammed oversaw the integration of Dubai's military forces with those of the other emirates.
On 3 January 1995, Mohammed's brother Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, signed two decrees. One decree appointed Mohammed as crown prince and the other appointed their brother Hamdan as the deputy ruler of Dubai. Mohammed created the Dubai Shopping Festival in late 1995, an annual event that has become a significant contributor to the economy of the UAE. In 2001, Mohammed ordered the arrest of Obaid Saqr bin-Busit, the head of Dubai Customs and the chairman of the World Customs Association.
