The House of Maktoum ( ') is the ruling royal family of the

Emirate of Dubai The Emirate of Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is the most populous emirate of the UAE. The capital of the emirate is the eponymous city, Dubai. Governance Dubai is governed as an absolute monarchy by the A ...

, and one of the six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates. The family is a branch of the

Bani Yas The Bani Yas () is a tribe, tribal confederation of Najdi origin in the United Arab Emirates. The tribal coalition, consisting of tribes from Dubai to Khor Al Adaid in southeast Qatar, was called the Bani Yas Coalition (). The House of Nahyan, Al ...

clan (a lineage the family shares with the

Al Nahyan The House of Nahyan () is the ruling royal family of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and one of the Royal families of the United Arab Emirates, six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates. The family is a branch of the House of Al Falahi (Āl Bū ...

dynasty of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

), a tribal federation that was the dominant power through the region that now forms the United Arab Emirates.

History

In 1833, about 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, under the joint leadership of Sheikh Maktoum bin Butti and Obeid bin Said, took over the emirate of Dubai. After Obeid bin Said died of old age in 1836, Maktoum bin Butti took the reins as the sole ruler and established the Al Maktoum dynasty in the emirate. The Al Maktoum dynasty has ruled Dubai since 1833. Within the federation of the United Arab Emirates, the

Federal Supreme Council The Federal Supreme Council (), also known as the Supreme Council of Rulers, is the highest constitutional authority in the United Arab Emirates, being the highest legislative and executive body. It replaced the earlier Trucial States Council ...

consists of the individual rulers of the seven emirates. The

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

vice-president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

are elected by the Supreme Council every five years. Although unofficial, the presidency is '' de facto'' hereditary to the

clan of

Emirate of Abu Dhabi The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of seven Emirates of the United Arab Emirates, emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates. It is the largest emirate, accounting for 87% of the nation's total land area or . Abu Dhabi also has the second ...

and the Prime Minister, Vice President and Minister of Defence post ''de facto'' is hereditary to the Al Maktoum clan of Dubai.

Genealogy

Rulers

The following Al Maktoum family members have ruled Dubai:

Assets

The Al Maktoum family owns Godolphin, one of the premier

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

studs.

Controversy

In 2001, Sheikha Shamsa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum alleged that she was kidnapped off the streets of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

by her father Sheikh

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab ...

’s men. Sheikha

Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 5 December 1985) is an Emirati sheikha and a member of the Dubai ruling family. She is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE, and an Algeria ...

also alleged that she was kidnapped off the coast of India on the orders of her father. She has stated that she was detained under police guard in Dubai. The actions taken against the princesses was allegedly motivated by a desire to protect the reputation of the Al Maktoum family. On 29 June 2019, ''The Sun'' reported that the wife of Sheikh Mohammed, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, had fled Dubai and was in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

seeking

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

along with her children son and daughter. The cause of the departure was unknown, despite a poem reportedly composed by Dubai’s ruler alluding to betrayal. On 30 July 2019 at the High Court, she filed for the

sole custody Child custody is a legal term regarding '' guardianship'' which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of ''legal custody'', which is the ri ...

of their two children, for a forced marriage protection order (FMPO), a non-molestation order, and non-

repatriation Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

to Dubai. In December 2019, a UK family court ruled that— on the balance of probabilities—Sheikh Mohammed had orchestrated the abductions of Sheikha Latifa and Sheikha Shamsa and that he continued to maintain a regime whereby both were deprived of their liberty, and had subjected his former wife, Princess Haya, to a campaign of "intimidation"; the findings were published in March 2020.

Notes

{{Authority control

Maktoum family Maktoum or maktoom, also known as katem, is a traditional Arabic unpitched percussion instrument. It is similar to a large round bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrume ...