UAE - Profile - Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

The ruler of Dubai and UAE Vice President, Shaikh Maktoum is the UAE's prime minister. He inherited these three positions from his father Shaikh Rashid, who died in November 1990. He formed a cabinet on Nov. 20, 1990. Before that,

when he was UAE deputy prime minister, Shaikh Maktoum was somewhat disengaged from the affairs of the federal state, devoting most of his working time to his role as crown prince of Dubai. That was because his father had been in coma for years. (See the family's history in Gas Market Trends). Shaikh Maktoum's younger brother Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, the UAE defence minister, was much more dynamic and was deeply involved in federal affairs. Shaikh Maktoum had been tipped for the UAE premiership since 1981, when Shaikh Rashid became seriously ill and named him crown prince of Dubai. His style has not changed by much, but he has been able to efficiently project an element of continuity into the functioning of Dubai's government and that of the UAE as a whole. Shaikh Maktoum and his brothers are a close knit group and all were educated in prestigious institutions in Britain, with Shaikhs Maktoum, Hamdan and Mohammed having graduated from Cambridge. The brothers share a passion for horses and are the biggest players in the world horse-racing circuit. Their business in race-horse breeding, based in Britain and Dubai and directed by Shaikh Mohammed, is huge and profitable. Dubai under the Maktoums has been described as being more of a family estate, or a "corporation", than a state. In describing the "corporation", one British expatriate says the Maktoum brothers function as follows: Shaikh Maktoum as a "chairman", Shaikh Mohammed as "the chief executive", Shaikh Hamdan as "the chief of the landed gentry" as well as the treasurer, and Shaikh Ahmad (the chief of security) as "the playboy" who is often abroad. Shaikh Maktoum on March 25, 1997, reshuffled the UAE cabinet for the first time since 1990 after lengthy negotiations with UAE President Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the union's other rulers. (The UAE cabinet is described in the constitution as "the executive authority" for the federation. The prime minister is chosen by the UAE president in consultation with his colleagues on the Supreme Council. The prime minister then selects the ministers after consultation with the president, and these are drawn from the seven emirates according to a quota system worked out in the early 1970s. The more populous emirates have a larger quota of ministers than the smaller entities. Usually, each ruler presents the premier-designate with a list of ministers to fill his quota). Among the Abu Dhabians listed by Shaikh Zayed to fill Abu Dhabi's quota of ministers, Shaikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the second eldest son of the UAE president, was retained as deputy premier; Obaid Al Nassiri was given the oil portfolio (see above); Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed, a 25-year-old son of the UAE president, got the information ministry from Khalfan Al Roumi; Hamdan Bin Zayed, one of the UAE president's most brilliant sons, was retained as state minister for foreign affairs; UAE attorney general Mohammed Al Dhahiri, who was made minister of justice, Islamic affairs and endowments, replaced justice minister Abdullah Bin Omran Taryam and Islamic affairs and endowments minister Shaikh Mohammed Al Khazraji (with the two ministries merged); the interior minister, Gen. Mohammed Said Al Badi, was kept in his post; also kept in his post was higher education minister Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan. Dubai's quota of ministers included: Shaikh Mohammed, kept as defence minister; Shaikh Hamdan, retained as minister of finance and industry; Ahmad

Bin Humaid Al Tayer, made communications minister and was previously state minister for finance and industry; and his brother Mattar, made minister of labour and social affairs. A former secretary general of the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Shaikh Fahim Al Qassimi of Ras Al Khaimah, was appointed as minister of economy and commerce, replacing Said Ghobash. Shaikh Majed Bin Said Al Nuaimi of Ajman became state minister of Supreme Council affairs, replacing Shaikh Mohammed Bin Saqr Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi of Ras Al Khaimah. Ali Al Sharhan, another newcomer, was named minister of education. Mohammed Khalfan Bin Kharbash was made state minister for finance and industry, succeeding Ahmad Al Tayer. The Supreme Council, of which Shaikh Maktoum is vice president under Shaikh Zayed, comprises the rulers of the union's seven emirates. This is the top policy-making body for the federation. It is vested with legislative as well as executive powers, ratifying federal laws and decrees, planning general policy, approving the nomination of the prime minister and accepting his resignation. It can also relieve the prime minister from his post upon the recommendation of the president. The Supreme Council elects the president and the vice president for five year terms, and both may be re-elected. At an historic meeting on May 20, 1996, the Supreme Council approved a draft amendment to the union's provisional constitution, making it the permanent constitution of the UAE. The amendment confirmed the city of Abu Dhabi as the capital of the federation. The Federal National Council (FNC), the union's parliament, has 40 members drawn from the emirates on the basis of their population: eight for each of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, six each for Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, and four each for Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman. Presided over by a speaker, or by either of two deputy speakers elected from among their number, constitutionally the FNC is responsible for examining and, if it wishes, amending, all proposed federal legislation. It is empowered to summon and to question any federal minister regarding ministry performance. One of the main duties of the FNC is to discuss the annual UAE budget. Specialised sub- committees and a research & studies unit have been formed to assist FNC members to cope with the increasing demands of modern government. Parallel to and, on occasion, interlocking with the federal institutions, each of the seven emirates has its own local government. Although all local governments have been expanded significantly as a result of the UAE's growth since the 1970s, they differ in size and complexity from one emirate to another, depending on a variety of factors such as population, area, and degree of economic development (see Part 4). In Dubai, for example, the Municipal Council acts as a local government and this is headed by Shaikh Hamdan (see below). Shaikh Maktoum, his brothers and his uncle Shaikh Ahmad Bin Said, belong to the "Bani Said" branch of the Al Maktoum family. This consists of the direct descendants of the late Shaikh Said Bin Maktoum Bin Hasher Bin Maktoum Bin Buti Bin Suhail, who ruled Dubai in 1912-58. The other branches include the Bani Jumaa, consisting of the sons of the late Shaikh Said's half-brother Jumaa.

Born in 1943 as the first son of Shaikh Rashid Bin Said and a Shaikha daughter of a former Abu Dhabi ruler, Shaikh Maktoum got his higher education in Cambridge (UK) in 1961-64. He began his career as an assistant to his father and later became deputy ruler and crown prince of Dubai. He became acting ruler in 1982, when Shaikh Rashid fell seriously ill, and ruler when the father died in late 1990. He is married to a liberal cousin, from another branch of the Al Maktoum family, who has a strong personality. One of her brothers has been head of Shaikh Maktoum's office. His daughter, Shaikha Hessa Bin Maktoum, is a highly acclaimed artist and one of the liberal females in the UAE. In 1996, she held a major exhibition at the Dubai Trade Centre. (Now it is said that about 99% of all UAE women receive education and the illiteracy rate among those over 10 has been reduced to about 11%. Shaikha Fatima Bin Mubarak, the favourite wife of UAE President Shaikh Zayed, has been pioneering the role of the modern woman in the union. More than 80% of all employees in the UAE ministries of health and education are women. Several have achieved undersecretary status or have become department heads).