Dubai: Former governor of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and former vice chairman of Emirates NBD, Abdullah Mohammad Saleh, passed away on Monday night, a relative of his confirmed.
Saleh, whose most recent role was as a board member of DIFC, passed away at Rashid Hospital after having been in a coma for the past few months.
He was at the Dubai hospital after receiving treatment in London earlier following open-heart surgery, Ahmad Lutfi, office director of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, who is also Saleh’s brother-in-law, told Gulf News.
The former governor was one of the founders of the National Bank in Dubai in 1963, and its managing director from 1982 till January 2004. He assumed his role as the bank’s chairman in January 2005.
Saleh was later appointed as vice chairman after the National Bank of Dubai merged with Emirates Bank International to create the entity now known as Emirates NBD.
He was a prominent member of Dubai’s business community, having extensive interests in the construction, hotel, and insurance sectors.
In 2011, Saleh was appointed governor of DIFC, and two years later, received an accolade of recognition for his service from Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and first deputy chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.
According to a biography provided by Emirates NBD, Saleh became a founder member of the board of Dubai Cable Company (Ducab) and served as chairman until 2001. He was also a director and major shareholder of Dubai Transport Company.
He was a former adviser on financial matters to the late Ruler of Dubai, Shaikh Rashid Bin Said Al Maktoum, and served as an arbitrator on the Paris-based High Board of the Euro-Arab Arbitration Centre from 1988 to 2000.
