Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Born: 15 July 1949 (age 72 years), Shindagha historic district, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Children: Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, MORE
Spouse: Haya bint Hussein (m. 2004–2019), Hind bint Maktoum Al Maktoum (m. 1979), Zoe Grigorakos
Siblings: Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, MORE
Education: Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Al Shaab School, Al Ahmediya, Dubai Secondary School
Parents: Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Latifa bint Hamdan bin Zayed

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Arabic: محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم‎; Muḥammad bin Rāshid ʾĀl Maktūm; born 15 July 1949) is the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), its Minister of Defence, and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.[1] He acceded to the throne in 2006 after the death of his brother Sheikh Maktoum.[2]

He is a billionaire.[3] Most of his income comes from real estate and he is described as "one of the world’s most prominent real estate developers". Land which is owned by him is managed as an asset of the state.[4] There is a blurred line between the assets of the Government of Dubai and those of the ruling Al Maktoum family.[4] He oversaw the growth of Dubai into a global city,[5][6] as well as the launch of a number of major government-owned enterprises including Emirates Airline, DP World, and the Jumeirah Group. Many of these are held by Dubai Holding. Sheikh Mohammed has overseen the development of numerous projects in Dubai including the creation of a technology park, a free economic zone, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City,[7] the Dubai International Finance Centre, the Palm Islands[8] and the Burj Al Arab hotel. He also drove the construction of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.[9]

Al Maktoum is the absolute monarch of Dubai.[10] His regime is autocratic, as there are no democratic institutions, and internal dissent is prohibited.[11][12][13][14] Al Maktoum is Prime Minister of the UAE, which scholars characterize as an authoritarian regime.[15][16]

On 5 March 2020, a British court ruled that on the balance of probabilities, he had abducted two of his daughters and had threatened his former wife, Princess Haya.[17] His daughters, Shamsa and Latifa, have been alleged to be forcibly medicated while held in Dubai under Al Maktoum's orders since 2000 and 2018, respectively.[18] On 16 February 2021, BBC's Panorama broadcast a documentary featuring Princess Latifa's video messages that she made secretly under enforced detention in Dubai on the orders of Sheikh Mohammed.[19]

A keen equestrian, he is the founder of the Maktoum family-owned Godolphin stable and the owner of Darley, a thoroughbred breeding operation, operational in six countries. In 2012, he rode the horse Madji Du Pont 160 km to take the FEI World Endurance Championship.[20]