Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Biography

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was born in Dubai in 1949, the third of four sons of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. After school in Dubai he attended the Bell Educational Trust's English language school in Britain in 1966 and then trained at the Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot. He headed the Dubai Police from 1968 and became defence minister of the newly formed United Arab Emirates in December 1971. In 1973 he negotiated with the hijackers of Japan Air Lines Flight 404 and later of KLM Flight 861 after they landed in Dubai.

His brother Sheikh Maktoum appointed him crown prince of Dubai in January 1995. When Maktoum died in January 2006, Mohammed succeeded him as ruler of Dubai and as vice president and prime minister of the UAE, and he briefly acted as president in May 2022.

Under his rule Dubai grew into a global city, with state-backed ventures such as Emirates airline, DP World and the Jumeirah Group and landmark projects including the Palm Islands, the Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa. A keen horseman, he founded the Godolphin racing stable and won the FEI World Endurance Championship in 2012. Allegations that he had his daughters Latifa and Shamsa abducted, and the flight of his wife Princess Haya, have attracted international scrutiny.