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, prime minister, and minister of defence of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as the ruler of Dubai.[2] He is the third son of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, former vice president of the UAE and ruler of Dubai. Mohammed succeeded his brother Maktoum as vice president and ruler following the latter's death in 2006.[3]
A billionaire,[4] Mohammed generates most of his income from real estate and 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.[5] There is a blurred line between the assets of the Government of Dubai and those of the ruling Al Maktoum family.[5] He oversaw the growth of Dubai into a global city,[6][7] as well as the launch of a number of government-owned enterprises including Emirates Airline, DP World, and the Jumeirah Group. Some of these are held by Dubai Holding. Sheikh Mohammed has overseen the development of certain projects in Dubai including the creation of a technology park, a free economic zone, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City,[8] the Dubai International Finance Centre, the Palm Islands[9] and the Burj Al Arab hotel. He also drove the construction of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.[10]
Mohammed is the absolute ruler of Dubai and Prime Minister of UAE,[11] a position appointed by the president.[12] The government is autocratic, as there are no democratic institutions, and internal dissent is prohibited.[13][14][15][16] It is characterized by scholars as authoritarian.[17][18]
On 5 March 2020, a British court ruled that on the balance of probabilities, Mohammed had abducted two of his daughters and had threatened his former wife, the Jordanian princess Haya bint Hussein.[19] Allegedly two of his daughters, Shamsa and Latifa, were forcibly medicated while held in Dubai under Sheikh Mohammed's orders since 2000 and 2018, respectively.[20] On 16 February 2021, BBC's Panorama broadcast a documentary featuring Sheikha Latifa's video messages that she made secretly under enforced detention in Dubai on the orders of Sheikh Mohammed.[21] In 2022, the High Court of England and Wales found that Mohammed "had inflicted 'domestic abuse' on an extraordinary scale against his ex-wife".[22]
Mohammed is an equestrian and 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.[23]