Dubai: Former Minister of Health Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami has taken over as the Director-General of Dubai Health Authority (DHA,) replacing Eisa Al Maidour, who served as the director-general from 2012 to 2015
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, issued Decree No (21) of 2015 appointing Al Qutami to his new position.
Al Qutami, who was formerly the UAE Minister of Health from 2006 to 2009 and the UAE Minister of Education from 2009 to 2014, will be in charge of handling the tasks and responsibilities assigned to him as the director-general and will continue handling his previous tasks as the chairman of the Board of DHA.
Earlier this month, Shaikh Mohammad issued Decree No (16) of 2015 forming the Board of DHA and appointing Al Qutami as the chairman of the board and Rashid Mohammad Al Mutawa, Jamal Ahmad Al Jasmi, Abdullah Mohammad Al Tenaiji, Abdullah Mohammad Bin Sougat, Dr Shawqi Meer Hashim Khoury, Dr Amer Ahmad Sharif, Hawa Abdullah Bastaki and Asma Abdullah Al Sharif as board members.
Their responsibilities will include overseeing policies, plans, programmes and projects of DHA and its subsidiaries, approving and overseeing the strategic, operational and development plans, regulating medical professions’ practices and medical and pharmaceutical facilities, overseeing the activities of the Authority’s executive body and approving its performance indicators.
Born in Ras Al Khaimah in 1959, Al Qutami completed his masters in Business Administration at Western Michigan University in the US in 1985 and held several positions before becoming the director-general at DHA.
Among the positions Al Qutami held are the head of the Civil Service Board until 2008, director of finance at the Emirates Institute for Banking Studies from 1991 to 2006, secretary-general of the Human Resources Committee in the banking sector from 1996 to 2006, member of the National Elections Commission in 2006 and member of the Supreme Committee for resettlement in the insurance sector from 1997 to 2006.
He was also the member of the Board of the National Human Resource Development Authority from 2001 to 2005. He served as chairman of the Friends of the Environment from 1990 until 1997, and was the chairman of the Board Management at the Emirates Volunteers Association from 1997 to 2006.
Al Qutami was also a member of many boards in a number of companies and banks.
