DUBAI: Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum on Sunday announced he appointed his son, the emirate’s crown prince, as defence minister of the United Arab Emirates, in a cabinet reshuffle.

“Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has joined the government of the UAE as Deputy Prime Minister and has been appointed Min­ister of Defence,” Sheikh Mohammed, who is the UAE’s prime minister, wrote on X.

Sheikh Hamdan, 41, is the second son of Sheikh Mohammed and has held the title of crown prince of Dubai since 2008.

The royal graduated in 2001 from Sandhurst military college and became chairman of the Executive Council of Dub­ai, a body responsible for strategic development pla­ns in the emirate, in 2006. His father, Sheikh Mohammed, has been defence minister since the founding of the UAE in 1971, when he was just 22.

In the cabinet reshuffle, foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan was also appo­inted as a deputy prime minister.

Other new appointments include Alia Abdulla AlMazrouei as minister of state for entrepreneurship, Sarah Al Amiri as minister of education, Abdulrahman Al Awar as acting minister of higher education and scientific research, according to the Dubai ruler’s post.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2024