Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

From the age of four, Mohammed was privately tutored in Arabic and Islamic studies. He began formal education at Al Ahmedia School in 1955, moved to Al Shaab School at ten and then to Dubai Secondary School. In 1966 he attended the Bell Educational Trust's English language school in the United Kingdom with his cousin Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, and went on to the Mons Officer Cadet School at Aldershot, passing out with the sword of honour as the top Commonwealth student; he also travelled to Italy to train as a pilot. ^{1 2}

On his return to Dubai from military training at the age of twenty, his father appointed him head of the Dubai Police Force and the Dubai Defence Force. In January 1968 he was present when his father and Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan first met in the desert between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, at Argoub El Sedira, to agree on a union of emirates after Britain announced its withdrawal. When the United Arab Emirates was founded on 2 December 1971, Mohammed became its first minister of defence, at twenty-two. ¹

On 3 January 1995 his brother Maktoum, by then ruler of Dubai, appointed Mohammed crown prince and their brother Hamdan deputy ruler. Mohammed created the Dubai Shopping Festival in late 1995, an annual event that became a significant contributor to the UAE economy, and over the following decade he exercised de facto rule of the emirate. ¹

Mohammed became ruler of Dubai on 4 January 2006, on the death of his brother Maktoum. The next day the Federal National Council selected him as vice president of the UAE, and on 11 February it approved President Khalifa's nomination of him as prime minister. A number of government-owned enterprises were launched under his leadership, including the Emirates airline, DP World and the Jumeirah Group, and he oversaw the development of the Palm Islands, the Burj Al Arab hotel and the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world since 2010. ¹

His philanthropic work is organised in part through the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives, and the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government bears his name. He is an accomplished equestrian, the founder of the Godolphin stable and of Darley, a thoroughbred breeding operation in six countries; in 2012 he rode the horse Madji Du Pont over 160 kilometres to win the FEI World Endurance Championship. ¹

This section sets out positions as reported in the sources; it is not a verdict by the museum. The English article describes Dubai's government under him as autocratic and the UAE as authoritarian in the assessment of scholars, and reports that human rights organisations describe systematic violations, including the torture and forced disappearance of government critics, with a blurred line between the assets of the state of Dubai and those of the ruling family. The article also reports, in dedicated sections, the allegations concerning two of his daughters, Sheikha Shamsa and Sheikha Latifa, and the 2019 departure of his wife Princess Haya for Britain; these matters are presented there as allegations and reported claims, and they are recorded here in the same terms. ¹

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