Timeframe: When Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi became the first female UAE Cabinet minister

When offered the position in 2004, she said she wanted to ask her mother for advice

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi's appointment was a landmark moment for the country and the wider region's politics. Pawan Singh / The National

In November 2004, a new line-up of ministers was revealed for the UAE Cabinet. In most ways, the reshuffle was a fairly routine government initiative. But one name on the list, however, caught the world’s attention – that of the new Minister of Economy.

Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi had become the UAE’s first female Cabinet minister. Her appointment would prove to be a landmark moment for the country as it broke through the glass ceiling, inspiring others to follow in her path, and it all began with a phone call.

Sheikha Lubna had been on a government trip in Tunisia when Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, called with the life-changing question: “The government calls for you to be a minister of the Cabinet. What do you say?”

“I said: ‘I’ll ask my mother,'” Sheikha Lubna recalled in a 2021 interview with The National. “Others would say, well, this is this is strange. Why would you ask your mom? But I wanted to know whether this is something that she believed is OK.”

As history shows, Sheikha Lubna’s mother's reaction was encouraging, but there were still a few voices of opposition within the political sphere from some who did not believe that a woman could lead a ministry.

“There were these opinions that are not reflective of the UAE saying: ‘How can you have a woman as a minister? It should be always men.' But then you had those who were saying: ‘This is great, this is a great break, moving forward in the Gulf.'”

The support was evident during Sheikha Lubna’s first Cabinet meeting. “You just turn around you, see the smiles and everybody's happy and excited about the decision,” she said. However, the work had only begun and she spent countless sleepless nights at the beginning of her tenure.

“I went without sleep for a couple of weeks mainly because this was a merged position – Ministry of Planning with the Ministry of Economy. So you're talking about 300 employees. It was quite scary.

“And then one night, I thought: 'Well, I was appointed by the government – by His Highness [the then President] Sheikh Khalifa, and they are there to back me up. So why am I scared?' And all of a sudden, I had the sense of relief and I didn't really feel that anxiety that I had before.”

Sheikha Lubna’s success in the economy portfolio led to her becoming Minister of Foreign Trade in 2008. Five years later, she became Minister of International Co-operation and Development, followed by Minister for Tolerance in 2016. Sheikha Lubna has also served in various prestigious non-government positions, including as president of Zayed University.