Sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

a Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum ( ar, الشيخة هند بنت مكتوم بن ُجمعة آل مكتوم; born 12 February 1962) is the senior wife and consort of Sheikh

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( ar, محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم, links=no; ; born 15 July 1949) is the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, vice president, prime minister, and minister of defence of the United Arab Emir ...

, the ruler of

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 of ...

. They were married on 26 April 1979. She is the mother of 12 of her husband's thirty children, including his

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 14 November 1982) has been Crown Prince of Dubai since 2008. He previously served as Deputy Ruler of Dubai from 2006 to 2008. He is popularly known as Fazza ( ar, فزاع), the name under ...

, the

Crown Prince of Dubai The House of Maktoum ( ar, آل مكتوم ') is the ruling royal family of the Emirate of Dubai, and one of the six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates. The family is a branch of the Bani Yas clan (a lineage the family shares with t ...

Family

Sheikha Hind is the paternal granddaughter of Sheikh Juma bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, brother of Emir Saeed II of Dubai, grandfather of the current Sheikh. She is also the niece of Sheikh Ahmad Bin Juma Al Maktoum, who died in 2009. Her mother, Sheikha Shaikha bint Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum (who died on 28 January 2017), was the daughter of Emir Saeed II of Dubai, making Sheikha Hind a

first cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...

of her husband through her mother as well as

second cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...

of her husband through her father.

Marriage

In 1979, Hind bint Maktoum married her cousin, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. Their wedding was Dubai's first major public event. Elaborate arrangements were made to celebrate the event. A 20,000 seater stadium was built to host the wedding, which featured displays of horse and camel riding, and an aerobatics display by the Dubai Air Force. The total cost of the wedding celebrations was estimated to be around $100 million. Her photograph has never been shown publicly. Being the Sheikh's senior

wife A wife (plural, : wives) is a female in a marital relationship. A woman who has separated from her partner continues to be a wife until the marriage is legally Dissolution (law), dissolved with a divorce judgement. On the death of her partner, ...

and consort, Sheikha Hind is the ruling family's chief matriarch and resides with her family in the

Zabeel Palace Zabeel (25 October 1986 – 25 September 2015) was a New Zealand-bred racehorse who predominantly raced in Australia. He was retired to stud and became a champion sire. He is a bay son of Sir Tristram (IRE) from the Nureyev mare Lady Gisell ...

(Ruler's Palace) in

. He is divorced from the rest of the wives. Sheikha Hind oversees the upbringing of her children and the orphans she has adopted.

Children

Sheikha Hind has 12 children:

Sheikha Hind Women's Sport Tournament

The tournament was launched on 17 December 2012, at the

Dubai World Trade Centre The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) ( ar, مركز دبي التجاري العالمي), historically called Sheikh Rashid Tower, is a 38-storey and a height 184 m skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was erected in 1979. It is a purp ...

, and was organized by the Women's Sport Committee of the Dubai Sports Council, under the patronage of Sheikha Hind, and the guidance of her son, Sheikh Hamdan, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council (DSC). The sports tournament is meant to encourage women to come out and actively participate in fitness and sports activities.

Charity work and donations

In January 2013, Sheikha Hind donated three planes to airlift the

United Arab Emirates national football team The United Arab Emirates national football team ( ar, منتخب الإمارات العربية المتحدة لكرة القدم) represents United Arab Emirates in international association football and serves under the auspices of the coun ...

’s fans from

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

to Dubai following UAE's 1-0 victory over

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

in the semi-final of the 21st Arabian Gulf Cup. In June 2013, The Mohammed bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Establishment distributed 4100 smart cards of Ramadan Ration by donation of Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum in its charitable programmes for the Holy Month of

Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...

, aiming at distributing basic foodstuff to the needy and poor families in the emirate of Dubai and northern areas. Ibrahim Boumelha, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation, expressed his gratitude and thanks to Sheikha Hind for her moral and material support for various charitable projects, undertaken by the Foundation for the benefit of the citizens and residents expatriates, particularly during Ramadan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hind Bint Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum Maktoum family Living people Spouses of prime ministers of the United Arab Emirates 1962 births People from Dubai Women from Dubai