A young Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. The Ruler of Dubai was born in Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House in Al Shindagha on July 15, 1949.
Dubai in 1950. Al Fahidi Fort in Bur Dubai can be seen in the foreground, with Deira in the middle-right on the other side of the creek. Al Shindagha (left) and Al Ras (right) are in the background across the creek again from Deira.
A 19-year-old Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, pictured at Mons Officer Cadet School - a British military training establishment that closed in 1972, transferring its responsibilities to Sandhurst.
Fishermen dock in Dubai harbour in 1960.
Pictured in the 1970s, Sheikh Mohammed was at the centre of efforts to build the UAE up following unification.
Dubai Creek in 1976. By then, Dubai was becoming one of the Arab world's most developed and important commercial centres.
Sheikh Rashid, Ruler of Dubai, with his son, a 28-year-old Sheikh Mohammed, in 1977.
An aerial view of Dubai's Trade Centre and Sheikh Zayed Road in 1978.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, aged 34, in Lexington, Kentucky.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid walks among spectators in the royal enclosure at Royal Ascot in Berkshire, UK, in 1985.
2G66N56 Dubai 1984, United Arab Emirates. Corniche alongside The Creek, Hotels and Office Buildings to the Right.
Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, and Sheikh Mohammed watch the final race of the annual camel festival at Nad Al Sheba in Dubai in April 1996.
Aerial view of the luxury Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach hotels in Dubai taken in 1999.
Sheikh Mohammed takes a break during a 100-kilometre horse race in Cairo in May 2000. Sheikh Mohammed won with a riding time of five hours and 34 minutes.
Dubai's coastline, near the creek, in January 2004.
Sheikh Mohammed and Britain's Queen Elizabeth II greet hundreds of spectators at Emirates Palace after they unveiled a commemorative plaque to celebrate the commencement of construction of the Zayed National Museum in November 2010.
Sheikh Mohammed witnesses the installation of the final piece of the facade at the Museum of the Future in Dubai.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid witness the arrival of the Hope probe in orbit around Mars from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai in July 2020.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed open Al Wasl Plaza at the Expo 2020 site in Dubai.
Dubai. The Museum of the Future, currently under construction, can be seen on Sheikh Zayed Road.
In this large courtyard house, now a historic monument, the Vice President and Prime Minister grew up with his brothers and father Sheikh Rashid. His grandfather, Sheikh Saeed bin Hasher Al Maktoum, was the Ruler of Dubai, the longest serving in the emirate’s history.
As a child, Sheikh Mohammed lived in a world of wind towers and barasti homes. The abra ferries that linked Bur Dubai and Deira were propelled by muscle and oars.
There were no bridges. Only the smaller dhows could enter the creek harbour, blocked over the years by ever deepening sandbars.
Sheikh Saeed Al Maktoum House, where Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid was born in 1949. It now houses a museum. Pawan Singh / The National
This was a Dubai almost untouched by the 20th century but, as the future Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai began his education, change would soon be coming.
In 1958, Sheikh Rashid succeeded his father, implementing the ambitious plan created by the civil engineering company Sir William Halcrow & Partners for transforming the city.
As the young sheikh grew towards adulthood, so his city expanded. The new airport opened in 1960, not long after his 11th birthday, and in 1963, now a teenager, he witnessed the completion of Al Maktoum Bridge, the first over the Creek.
By his 19th birthday, in 1968, Sheikh Mohammed had trained at a British military college and was already at his father’s side as negotiations began with Sheikh Zayed for the formation of the UAE.
A 19-year-old Sheikh Mohammed in Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldershot, the UK in 1968. Wam
That year, he became the world’s youngest defence minister and was appointed the head of Dubai Police and Public Security force.
In 1971, he turned 21, only months before the birth of the UAE on December 2. Dubai was also accelerating towards a bright future, with the opening of Port Rashid in 1972. The city’s population, less than 20,000 in the year of his birth, had now topped 100,000.
It had more than doubled again by 1979, as Sheikh Mohammed turned 30. The city’s skyline was transforming with the opening of the World Trade Centre, the tallest building in the Middle East, while the Metropolitan Hotel welcomed its first guests that year.
Jumeirah, once a quiet fishing village, became a desirable residential suburb as the city boundaries expanded, while the journey to Abu Dhabi, formerly tracks in the sand, would shortly be transformed by a tarmac motorway.
For Sheikh Mohammed, his 30th year would be memorable. His wedding was accompanied by a five-day public holiday and celebrations that included the first display by the Police Air Wing flying in formation over Zabeel Palace.
In February 1979, he joined his father to welcome Queen Elizabeth II on her first state visit to the UAE, where she formally opened the Dubai Dry Docks and the new port at Jebel Ali.
Over the next decade, Dubai’s population soared past 500,000. The city became a thriving international destination with the creation of Emirates Airline in 1985, and events like the Dubai Desert Classic tournament, held at the first grass course in the Middle East, the Emirates Golf Course, which opened in 1988.
Dubai's corniche alongside The Creek, with hotels and office buildings to the right, pictured in 1984.
With his health failing for the last years of the decade, Sheikh Rashid died in October 1990. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid, with Sheikh Mohammed appointed Crown Prince in 1995.
The position allowed Sheikh Mohammed a leading role in the development of Dubai. He took responsibility for the airport and oil industry and merged Port Rashid and Jebel Ali to create Dubai Ports Authority, now DP World, one of the world’s most successful companies.
Increasingly, Sheikh Mohammed looked to the future of Dubai, recognising early the potential of the internet and the digital age, ordering all government services to move online in 1999.
But it is the Burj Al Arab that is Sheikh Mohammed’s most visible legacy of those years. As Crown Prince, he took personal charge of the project, which he saw as an icon for the city to rival the Sydney Opera House or Eiffel Tower.
Sheikh Mohammed’s hand-on approach to the project even extended to the selection of the hotel’s doorknobs. By September 1999, only two months after his 50th birthday, the Burj Al Arab was open, its now familiar sail shape a confirmation that Dubai was leading holiday destination.
In January 2006, Sheikh Maktoum died unexpectedly on a visit to Australia. Sheikh Mohammed was now Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE. In February, he was nominated as Prime Minister.
The pace of Dubai’s expansion has quickened under his rule. As a rival to the Burj Al Arab, the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa was completed in 2009.
Colourful fireworks mark the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai on January 4, 2010.
In the same year, as Sheikh Mohammed turned 60, came the opening of the Dubai Metro and Dubai Mall.
In the decade that proceeded it, the population of Dubai rose from 1.7 million to approaching three million today. Its boundaries extend ever further and not only on land.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre sent the UAE’s first astronaut into space as the Ruler turned 70. Earlier this year, the space centre’s Hope probe began orbiting Mars.
As Sheikh Mohammed turns 72 on July 15, he can look forward to the opening of Dubai Expo in less than three months. There are plans to make a quarter of the city’s journeys autonomous by 2030. It is a long way from the abra rowing boats he once watched from his family home as a boy, who always dreamt bigger.
Liverpool 4-1 Shrewsbury
Liverpool Gordon (34'), Fabinho (44' pen, 90' 3), Firmino (78')
Shrewsbury Udoh (27'minutes)
Man of the Match: Kaide Gordon (Liverpool)
Tamkeen's offering
Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Shahi
Emirate: Sharjah – Khor Fakkan
Education: Master’s degree in special education, preparing for a PhD in philosophy.
Favourite activities: Bungee jumping
Favourite quote: “My people and I will not settle for anything less than first place” – Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023 More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
