Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ( ar, ٱلـشَّـيْـخ رَاشِـد بِـن سَـعِـيْـد آل مَـكْـتُـوْم, Ash-Shaykh Rāshid bin Sa`īd Āl Maktūm; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was the vice president and second
prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and
ruler of Dubai. He ruled
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics ...
for 32 years from 1958 until his death in 1990.
Development of Dubai
Sheikh Rashid 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.
A quote commonly attributed to Sheikh Rashid reflected his concern that Dubai's oil, which was discovered in 1966 and which began production in 1969, would run out within a few generations.
"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",[While the following quote is commonly attributed to Sheikh Rashid, it is sometimes attributed to Saudi politician Ahmed Zaki Yamani. Furthermore, the quote has some alternate forms, such as "My grandfather rode a camel. My father drove a car. I fly in jet planes. My son will drive a car. My grandson will ride a camel".]
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, such as:
#
Port Rashid (opened in 1972)
#
Al Shindagha Tunnel (opened in 1975)
#
Jebel Ali Port (opened in 1979)
#
Dubai World Trade Centre (built in 1978)
#The second major dredging and widening of the
Dubai Creek (early 1970s)
[Ruling Shaikhs and Her Majesty's Government, 1960-1969]
Joyce, Miriam. Routledge
Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, ...
. 2003
#
Dubai Drydocks (opened in 1983)
Relationship with other emirates
Dubai 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 emirates in 1946, and he established a close relationship with
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
. Sheikh Rashid's daughter married the
emir of Qatar in 1961. 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, along with a popular issue of bonds, the 'creek bonds' and revenue derived from land reclamation made possible by the dredging.
The project resulted in Dubai's rising prominence as an
entrepôt, a position cemented by the visionary construction of a 15-berth deep-water port, Port Rashid, starting in 1969.
Sheikh Rashid brought Dubai to join Abu Dhabi and other northern emirates to create the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
in 1971, and in 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency, the
UAE dirham
The dirham (; ar, درهم إماراتي, abbreviation: د.إ in Arabic, Dh (singular) and Dhs (plural) or DH in Latin; ISO code: AED) is the official currency of the United Arab Emirates. The dirham is subdivided into 100 .
History
The n ...
.
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.
Family
Sheikh Rashid's father was Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, while his mother was Sheikha Hessa bint Al Mur bin Hureiz Al Falasi.
Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum married once to Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, the daughter of
Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Rashid and Latifa had four sons and five daughters:
#
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum (1943–2006)
#
Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum (1945–2021)
#
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (born 1949)
#
Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (born 1956)
# Maryam bint Rashid Al Maktoum married to the first Qatari emir,
Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani.
# Fatima bint Rashid Al Maktoum.
# Hassa bint Rashid Al Maktoum married to Ahmad bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum. Their children are
Latifa bint Ahmed Al Maktoum
Latifah bint Ahmed bin Juma Al Maktoum (born 27 September 1985) is an equestrian athlete from the United Arab Emirates who competed in 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, and the 2013 and ...
and Rashid.
# Maitha bint Rashid Al Maktoum.
# Shaikha bint Rashid Al Maktoum married to the Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud, known as Al Samer, a very famous poet. They have 3 sons: Rashid (born 1996), Saud, and Mohammed.
Both his predecessor and successor as Prime Minister of the UAE was his son, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid was the prime minister of
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at ...
from 1971 to 1979, and acceded as ruler of Dubai on his father's death on 7 October 1990, until his death on 4 January 2006. Following Maktoum's death in 2006, another of Sheikh Rashid's sons, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, acceded to these positions and is the current vice president and prime minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai.
Sheikh Rashid was half-brother—46 years older—to Sheikh
Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, presently the Chairman of Emirates Airline.
See also
*
Hazza bin Sultan Al Nahyan, friend and relative by marriage
*
Timeline of Dubai
Notes
References
External links
Shaikh Mohammad: A role model for world leaders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maktoum, Rashid Bin Saeed
1912 births
1990 deaths
Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum
Prime Ministers of the United Arab Emirates
Rulers of Dubai
20th-century Emirati people