His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Ruler of Dubai

On January 4th, 2006, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum became the Ruler of Dubai following the death of Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. On January 5th, the members of the Supreme Council elected Sheikh Mohammed the UAE Vice President. On February 11th, 2006 UAE President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan nominated Sheikh Mohammed for UAE Prime Minister; the Council approved this nomination. Sheikh Mohammed and the members of his Cabinet took their oaths in front of Sheikh Khalifa at Al Bateen Palace in Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mohammed embodies energetic and successful leadership. He is a man who has made promises and kept them; he has insisted on excellence and achieved nothing less; he has defined the role of leadership and fulfilled it. Thanks to his vision, Sheikh Mohammed has competently authored the Dubai success story in record time and put the United Arab Emirates on a unique course, which nations around the world compete to replicate. Since becoming the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, groundbreaking initiatives have been rolled out at an astonishing rate. The year 2007 witnessed unique achievements for Sheikh Mohammed both locally and regionally. On February 3rd, he announced the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015, which aims to bolster Dubai's leading position in the region and boost its role as an international economic and financial hub. The strategy will be used as a road map for development in the coming years. On April 17th, 2007, Sheikh Mohammed unveiled the UAE Government Strategy Plan with the aim of achieving sustainable development throughout the country, investing federal resources more efficiently and ensuring due diligence, accountability and transparency across federal bodies. Regionally, his most outstanding achievement was the launch of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, on May 19th, 2007, with an endowment of $10 billion. The foundation's aim is to promote human development by investing in education and the development of knowledge in the region by cultivating future leaders in both the private and public sectors, promoting scientific research, spreading knowledge, encouraging business leadership, empowering youth, renewing the concept of culture, preserving heritage and promoting platforms of understanding among various cultures. Sheikh Mohammed launched Dubai Cares on September 20th, 2007. The campaign, which raised an unprecedented Dh 3.4 billion in its first two months, has become one of the biggest international humanitarian movements to focus on fighting poverty, spreading knowledge and providing education for children in the world's poorest countries. On September 3rd, 2008, Sheikh Mohammed unveiled the Noor Dubai initiative aiming to deliver preventative eye care to over one million people in developing countries. This move is part of a drive towards a world free from curable forms of blindness. In an effort to encourage innovation, Sheikh Mohammed has announced a wide array of awards both in Dubai and the UAE, including the Arab Journalism Awards, the Dubai Government Excellence Programme, the Dubai Holy Qur'an Awards and the Young Business Leaders Awards. These awards have promoted a competitive climate for both the public and private sectors to strive for excellence. The past few years have witnessed significant progress in economic and social development: e-government was introduced; Dubai Metro was inaugurated and a significant number of investment companies were established. These companies have formed global partnerships in the fields of industry, commerce, tourism and ports and real estate management. A host of other cultural projects were also launched, including the Muhammad the Messenger Museum, the Universal Museums project and the Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens. Sheikh Mohammed set out his comprehensive world view in his book 'My Vision', where he describes his philosophy and his political and economic vision. He also offers a detailed account of how Dubai and the UAE have been guided to their present-day status as international centres, renowned for their high quality commercial and financial services, luxury tourism and their drive towards sustainable human and structural development. Through generosity and dedication, Sheikh Mohammed has achieved notable success while shouldering the great responsibility of leading Dubai and the Federal Government.