Who are the 44 UAE pioneers? The complete list

1. First foreign minister and the first to broadcast the UAE Union: Ahmad Khalifa Al Suwaidi

2. First Arab to be elected to the executive committee of the International Publishers Association (IPA): Shaikha Budoor Bint Sultan Al Qasimi

3. First founder of a writing restoration centre (Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage): Juma Al Majid

4. First female prosecutor: Alia Al Kaabi

5. First to work in the precision industry: Abdullah Mohammad Al Buraiki

6. First UAE international football referee: Ali Mohammad Bu Jsaim

7. First female TV director: Dr Hessa Abdullah Lootah

8. First innovator of an electronic system to help in early detection of lung cancer: Dr Fatima Taher

9. First fighter pilot: the late Ahmad Al Hamli

10. First teacher in formal education: Salem Ebrahim Mohammad Bin Darwish Al Nuaimi

11. First sea captain: Captain Abdul Wahab Al Diwani

12. First surgeon to implant brain pressure measuring device and monitor pressure through wireless device: Dr Mohammad Abdul Aziz Sultan Al Olama

13. First dean in the UAE: Professor Abdul Rahman Sultan Al Sharhan

14. First to establish a thalassaemia humanitarian association: Khaleda Ali Khamas and Abdul Basset Merdas

15. First to document Nabati poetry in the UAE: (The late) Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Hamad Abu Shihab

16. Youngest inventor: Fatima Al Kaabi

17. First radio presenter: Ahmad Mohammad Al Mansouri

18. First to win silver medal at the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports World Games: Mariam Al Matroushi

19. First pilot to fly Airbus and Boeing Aircraft: Captain Ahmad Al Shamsi

20. First physician in obstetrics and gynaecology: Dr Zeinab Abdullah Kazim

21. First researcher in the field of Arabic handwriting and signature recognition for criminal investigation: Brigadier Dr Ahmad Al Haddad

22. The founder of the first formal education school in the UAE: the late Shaikh Mohammad Bin Ali Al Mahmoud

23. First UAE inventor of water desalination technology based on nanotechnology: Faisal Abdullah Al Marzouki

24. First to win an international chess championship: Saeed Ahmad Saeed

25. First public prosecutor: Counsellor Salem Saeed Kubaish

26. First flight engineer: Fatima Khalifa Mattar

27. First judge in the federal courts:(The late) Mohammad Ali Abdullah Abdouli

28. First sports commentator: Abdul Rahman Mohammad Hokal

29. First female school principal: Shaikha Mahra Bint Majid Al Qasimi

30. First doctor to specialise in neurosurgery: Dr Adel Abdullah Mousa Al Maroui

31. First physical education teacher: Abdul Rahman Al Hasawi

32. First specialist in the field of medical physics: Dr Jameela Salem Al Suwaidi

33. First to get PhD in special needs sports: Rashid Ali Abdul Rahman

34. First female story author: Shaikha Mubarak Saif Al Nakhi

35. First Director of a formal school: The late Ahmad Bin Mohammad Borahimh

36. First TV Director: Abdullah Darwish

37. First football player to score an international goal: Suhail Salem

38. First inventor of electromagnetic energy-powered motor system: Mohammad Al Hashemi

39. First Commander of female military school: Lieutenant Colonel Afra Saeed Al Falasi

40. First to obtain the title of best global horse racing coach: Saeed Bin Surour

41. First woman journalist: Mariam Yousuf Al Awadi

42. First to obtain a doctoral degree in human anatomy and cell biology: Dr Rasheed Al Hammadi

43. First to specialise in sign language: Abeer Zaid Al Shahi

44. First blind teacher: Ahmad Mukhtar Ahmad Ali