Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, has been promoted to the rank of General.
The promotion was announced by the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday, confirming President Sheikh Mohamed issued it by federal decree.
Sheikh Hamdan has a long history with the military, having studied at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in his younger days.
He marked the first anniversary of his appointment as the UAE's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence this month.
He attended a ceremony in May in honour of the 49th anniversary of the unification of the UAE Armed Forces.
Sheikh Hamdan also said the unification was a momentous national occasion on which the military can reflect on the legacy of UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The military was unified five years after the UAE was founded. Six of the seven emirates – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah – formed the union on December 2, 1971. Ras Al Khaimah joined on February 10, 1972.
