Sheikh Mohammed celebrates 73rd birthday, his children share memorable moments
Sheikh Mohammed with his son Sheikh Hamdan in Dubai. File
Jihan Shuaib, Staff Reporter
The Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum shared a touching video marking His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai’s birthday on his Instagram account.
The Dubai Ruler turned 73 on Friday.
Sheikh Hamdan shared the picture-oriented video celebrating the moment.
Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, also shared a similar video greeting his father.
Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority also greeted her father. She wrote, “Happy Birthday…”
Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum shared video with the message, Happy Birthday Dad.
She wrote, “May your years be of good fortune…”
Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, also shared a picture message.
Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group said on Twitter, “We are thankful for and inspired by @HHShkMohd lifetime of exemplary leadership, stellar achievements and dedicated service to the nation. Today we wish him happy birthday, and honour his bold vision and contributions to the UAE as a leader on the global stage.”
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the third son of Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, was born on July 15, 1949, and grew up in the house of Al Maktoum family in Al Shindagha.
The family was then ruling the emirate of Dubai.
In his childhood, Sheikh Mohammed learned the arts of hunting and the sport of falconry.
He inherited the basic skills of equestrianism from his father. He received the principles of the Arabic language and the teachings of the Islamic religion. He was enrolled in basic education in Dubai, and completed his higher education in London, then joined the British “Mons Military College” in Aldershot.
On September 9, 1958, his grandfather, Sheikh Saeed, passed away.
His father, Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed, became ruler of the Emirate of Dubai. At that time, Sheikh Rashid started serious preparations to prepare his sons with the necessary skills to take charge of the government in the future.
After the death of his father, Sheikh Rashid, his older brother, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid, became the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, and then issued an Emiri decree appointing His Highness Sheikh Mohammed as Crown Prince of the Emirate of Dubai.
On January 4, 2006, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed became the ruler of Dubai, following the death of Sheikh Maktoum. Later, the members of the Supreme Council of the UAE selected him a Vice President of the UAE, and then was nominated by Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, for the position of Prime Minister, and the Council approved it.
His Highness has many humanitarian examples. One of these took place during the activities of the “Expo 2020” exhibition, when he embraced a little girl who was crying because she could not photograph with His Highness. He described his meeting with her, saying, “The most beautiful personal meeting for me at the Expo so far.”
In addition to some of His Highness' humanitarian stances, his saving a European family that were stuck in the desert during one of his tours, where he saw the family stuck in the desert, and instantly he rescued them.
In another occasion, during the ceremony honouring the "Makers of Hope" in its first session in 2017, his tears were shed, as Moroccan Nawal Al Sufi recounted the suffering of thousands of Syrian refugees arriving by sea to the Italian island of Sicily.
Sheikh Mohammed has many lofty principles, such as encouraging peaceful coexistence between people of different religions, combating extremism, rejecting violence and advocating tolerance among peoples.
In this regard, he witnessed the signing of Pope Francis and Imam Ahmed Al Tayeb of the "Human Fraternity Document", which aims to strengthen human relations and build bridges of communication, harmony and love between peoples.
The signing of the agreement, was an event which was considered as one of the most important events in the world that focused on spreading the values of tolerance and love among peoples.
Finally, Sheikh Mohammed does not hesitate to follow up on citizens' affairs through his meetings with them without any barriers or restrictions, as he is keen to follow up on their affairs and issues, and to share their joys and sorrows.
His Highness is also keen to build bridges of communication with the people of the UAE on social media, where he has a large number of followers, with whom he shares his opinions, informs them periodically of the results of the Cabinet meetings and asks their opinion on personal, national, social and charitable events.
