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Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum (1912 - October 7, 1990) (Arabic: راشد بن سعيد آل مكتوم) was the Vice-President and Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates and Emir of Dubai. He ruled for 32 years from 1958 until his death in 1990. Development of DubaiSheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum was responsible for the transformation of Dubai from a small cluster of settlements near the Dubai Creek to a modern port city and commercial hub. His famous line, "My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel." reflected his concern that Dubai's oil,which was discovered in 1966 and which began production in 1971, would run out within a generation. He therefore worked to develop the economy of Dubai so that it could survive after the end of oil production,and was a driving force behind a number of major infrastructure projects to promote Dubai as a regional hub for trade:
Relationship with Other Persian Gulf EmiratesDubai remained in a stand-off with Abu Dhabi
at the time Sheikh Rashid became Ruler of Dubai following the armed
border dispute between the two Sheikhdoms in 1946, and he established a
close relationship with Qatar. Sheikh Rashid's daughter married the then Emir of Qatar
in 1961, and the Emir provided US$700 in the financing of Port Rashid
as a wedding present. In 1966, India devalued the rupee, and Qatar and Dubai adopted the Gulf Rupee as a common currency, whilst Abu Dhabi adopted the Bahraini dinar. The Emir of Kuwait assisted in the financing of the Dredging of the Creek, which resulted in Dubai's prominence as an entrepot. Sheikh Rashid brought Dubai to join Abu Dhabi and other northern Emirates to create the United Arab Emirates in 1971, and in 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency,the UAE dirham. Jebel Ali port was established in 1979, and the customs free zone Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) was built around the port in 1985. By the late 1990s JAFZ developed into a commercial free zone. HeirsSheikh Rashid had four sons:
Both his predecessor (as Prime Minister) and his successor was his son, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who was the Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates 1971 to 1979 and who was the Emir of Dubai from October 7, 1990 until his death on January 4, 2006. Another of Sheikh Rashid's sons, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, took over these positions following Sheikh Maktoum's death.
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Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
(Arabic محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم; Muḥammad bin Rāshid al Maktūm), also Sheikh Mohammed, (born July 22, 1949), is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and absolute monarch of Dubai.
Political and business career
On January 3, 1995, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum signed two decrees that appointed Sheikh Mohammed as Crown Prince of Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed oversaw the development of numerous projects in Dubai including the creation of the Palm Islands and the luxury Burj Al Arab hotel. He also promoted the construction of Burj Khalifa, which is now the tallest free-standing structure in the world, world's tallest building; its official opening was on Monday, 4 January 2010. During his tenure as Crown Prince he set up Dubai Holding, the debt laden and financially troubled holding company with multi-diversified businesses and investments. He currently owns 99.67% of the company.[1]
After roughly a decade of de facto rulership,[2] he became the Ruler of Dubai on January 4, 2006 upon the death of his elder brother Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He was also nominated by the President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to be the next Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE on January 5, 2006. The members of the UAE Federal National Council accepted the President's nomination shortly after.
Net worth
In June 2010, his wealth was estimated at USD$ 12.3 billion by Forbes magazine, meaning he was the biggest faller two years in a row on their list of the worlds richest royals.[3]
[edit] Charity
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been known for his vast charitable donations. On May 19, 2007, he announced plans to give $US10bn to set up the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, an educational foundation in the Middle East, one of the largest charitable donations in history.[4] Sheikh Mohammed stated that the money is meant to bridge the knowledge gap between the Arab region and the developed world, improving the standard of education and research in the region, developing leadership programs for youth, and stimulating job creation. The announcement was made at the 2007 World Economic Forum in Jordan.
One of the Foundation's key initiatives is Bayt Ul Hikma۔
Dubai Cares
In September 2007, he launched the Dubai Cares campaign to raise money to educate 1 million children in poor countries. The campaign is Dubai's contribution to the U.N. Millennium Development Goals for providing Children's Primary Education to every child by 2015. The amount donated to this campaign has exceeded AED 3.4 billion (Approximately US$ 910 million).
Noor Dubai
On September 3, 2008, Sheikh Mohammad also launched a new Ramadan initiative under the name "Noor Dubai", aiming to help the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) in achieving its goals outlined in VISION 2020: the Right to Sight Noor Dubai will treat and provide health services to one million people suffering from treatable blindness and visual impairment in developing countries on a local, regional, and international scale.
n 2000, the Sheikh funded 4 million euro for the construction of the Essalaam mosque in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, which led to a major controversy.[5]
Since 2000, international equestrian athletes affiliated with UNICEF have worked to end the "scourge of modern slavery in mounted sports,"[6] by putting public and diplomatic pressure on Sheikh Mohammed and the UAE government. In 2005, a UNICEF-sponsored programme with the UAE government resulted in the repatriation of hundreds of children formerly enslaved as camel jockeys, and provided them with social services and compensation upon return to their home countries of Pakistan, Sudan, Mauritania, and Bangladesh. The UAE government set aside $US2.7 million in initial funding in 2005 with an additional $US9 million for the second phase, and to enforce compliance, adopted a law officially banning the practice with penalties of jail time and a $US27,200 fine.[7] UNICEF endorsed the UAE’s efforts and expressed the hopes that “the UAE’s programme will serve as a model to other countries in the region, as a means of ending all forms of exploitation of children”.[8]
In September 2006, Sheikh Mohammed was accused of encouraging the abduction and enslavement of thousands of boys for use as jockeys in camel races. A class-action suit was filed against him in the state of Florida.[9][10][11][12] However, in 2006, American lawyers representing the UAE raised a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, not on its substance but on the grounds that none of the involved parties resided in the U.S. In July 2007, judge Cecilia Altonaga accepted the motion and dismissed the suit.
On 9 March 2007, the London-based Metro newspaper wrongly published a picture of Sheikh Mohammed, attributing it to the terror suspect Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. The Metro has since apologized for the
