Sheikh Mohammed: 15 years as Ruler of Dubai, a lifetime of service

A young Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum

Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. On January 3, 2021, he wrote: Brothers and sisters ...the people of the UAE... In 2021, we will complete 15 years in the leadership of the UAE government ... we have worked to achieve the vision of my brother, President of the UAE and we spared no efforts to serve the people of the UAE.

"One of the most sensitive tasks I had is building a united army for the UAE," Sheikh Mohammed wrote in "Qissati", his "incomplete autobiography." On November 01, 1968 Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum was appointed Head of Dubai Police and Public Security.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid in Mons Officers Cadet School in Aldershot, UK, in 1968.

With Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan honouring one of the armed forces groups.

Sheikh Mohammed, with the late Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father.

Sheikh Mohammed's father, Sheikh Rashid (left), the late ruler of Dubai, with the late Sheikh Zayed, the first ruler of the UAE and the country's Founding Father.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid turned 70th birthday on July 15. Born on July 15, 1949, in the Al Maktoum home in Shindagha near the Dubai Creek, Sheikh Mohammed is the third of four sons to Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum.

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai [R] and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces [L]

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a session at the World Government Summit in Dubai last February

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended a programme that showcased the progress of science under the slogan, ‘The Father’s Legend’, at Habtoor City in this 2018 file photo.

A twitter post showing Sheikh Mohammed after he helped rescue tourists stuck in the desert outside Dubai. A Mexican woman identified as Hannah Karen Arroyo, wrote on her Twitter account about the incident, along with the photos. It emerged that it was Sheikh Mohammed who initiated the move to help pull them out of the dunes, where their vehicle was stuck while offroading. She tweeted: “My friend and I got stuck on the desert of Dubai, and we have been rescued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid.”

'Al Faris the Knight', a musical inspired by poems of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed, Sheikh Hamdan, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates airline and Group; Juma Al Majid and Reem Ebrahim Al Hashemi at the 10th anniversary celebrations of Dubai Cares, a global charity initiative launched by Sheikh Mohammed.