Sheikh Mohammed marks 17 years as Ruler of Dubai

The emirate continues its ascent under his leadership

Sheikh Mohammed, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, celebrates 50 years of government service during a Cabinet meeting in January 2019. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed is shown a scale model of the Dubai Air City project in January 2019. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed reviews a Sky Pod model being tested by Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority, in February 2019.

Sheikh Mohammed with Hadeel Anwar, winner of the 2018 Arab Reading Challenge. Photo: Wam 

Sheikh Mohammed at the launch of the UAE Cultural Development Fund and Creative Industries Contributions Index at Louvre Abu Dhabi in February 2018. Wam

The UAE Vice President has taken a particular interest in developing the talent of young people. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, receive Chinese President Xi Jinping in Abu Dhabi in July 2018. Photo: Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed inspects progress at the Shindagha Heritage District project in March 2018. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed welcome Pope Francis at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi in February 2019. Reuters

Sheikh Mohammed chairs an annual brainstorming session with his team at Emirates Towers, Dubai, in September 2018. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed award Saif Al Mansoori from Abu Dhabi with the UAE Pioneers Award for charitable work, in November 2017. Pawan Singh / The National

Sheikh Mohammed inspects the design for the main Expo station, which is modelled after the wings of a plane, in October 2017. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed has urged Arab youths to evolve, adapt and keep pace with a transforming world. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed inaugurates the second phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in March 2017. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed approves the second phase of the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan in December 2022. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed holds talks with Mohammad Yaqoob, Afghanistan's acting Minister of Defence, in December 2022. Photo: Wam

Sheikh Mohammed meets Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman, in December 2022. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed arrives in Ajman to chair a meeting of the Council of Ministers, in December 2022. Photo: @HHShkMohd / Twitter

President Sheikh Mohamed; Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai; Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah; Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah; Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah; and Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman, watch the 51st UAE National Day show at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Photo: UAE Presidential Court

Sheikh Mohammed opens a Federal National Council session in November 2022. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed said the council represented the UAE's commitment to promoting 'consensus, consultation and co-operation'. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed arrives at his majlis at Zabeel Palace, accompanied by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Dubai Crown Prince; Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation and chief executive of Emirates airline and group, and other officials, in Dubai, in November 2022. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed with Sham Bakour, 7, a Syrian schoolgirl who was crowned Arab Reading Challenge champion in Dubai. Sham survived a deadly missile attack during the civil war in her country. Ruel Pableo for The National

Sheikh Mohammed is greeted by Algerian Prime Minister Aimene Benabderrahmane after he arrived in Algeria to attend the Arab League Summit in November 2022. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed meets Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in Cairo, in October 2022. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed welcomes Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi at Zabeel Palace in October 2022. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid at an event in August 2022. Photo: Dubai Media Office

Sheikh Mohammed inaugurates a book-shaped library worth Dh1 billion in June 2022. Photo: HHShkMohd / Twitter

Sheikh Mohammed leads Eid Al Adha prayers at the Sheikh Rashid Mosque in Dubai. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed welcomes President Sheikh Khalifa on his return to Al Ain in January 2013 after a private visit to Pakistan. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid and Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed at Qasr Al Hosn, in Abu Dhabi, in February 2014. Photo: Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed with US President George W Bush at Camp David, Maryland, in August 2008. AFP

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Britain's Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip arrive at a ceremony to unveil the design of the new Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi, in November 2010. They are accompanied by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. EPA

Sheikh Mohammed with his racehorse Rewilding after the four-year-old thoroughbred won the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot in June 2011. Photo: racingfotos.com

The Vice President at the World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, in September 2010. Reuters

Sheikh Mohammed and former US president Bill Clinton pose for a picture with Nancie Atwell, a teacher from Southport, Maine, after she won the $1 million Global Teacher Prize in Dubai, in March 2015. AP

Sheikh Mohammed looks at plans for Al Ittihad Bridge in Dubai. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid talks to children at the inauguration of Al Jalila Child Culture Centre in Dubai, in December 2014. Wam

Sheikh Mohammed inaugurates the Dubai Metro Green Line in September 2011. AFP

Sheikh Mohammed and Prince Salman bin Sultan, Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Defence, greet military personnel who took part in a joint UAE-Egypt military exercise in Al Gharbia in March 2014. Photo: Crown Prince Court - Abu Dhabi

On January 4, 2006, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid became Ruler of Dubai, following the death of his brother, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid.

Under his 17 years of rule, Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Vice President and Prime Minister, has turned Dubai into a global centre of tourism, finance and commerce.

A remarkable feat, considering that just a few decades earlier, Dubai was still a small town centred on the Creek.

It was his father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, who first turned what was a small fishing town into a regional commercial centre.

Sheikh Mohammed had a front-row seat to his father's achievements and often accompanied him on key trips, such as to London in 1959 when Sheikh Rashid secured agreement to build Dubai's first airfield. At the time, Dubai was still a British protectorate and Sheikh Mohammed just a boy.

“My father was determined, arguing that he knew what Dubai needed best and he insisted on it,” Sheikh Mohammed wrote. “We won permission to build the airstrip on that trip.”

That airstrip went on to become the world's busiest airport in terms of international passengers.

Sheikh Rashid died in October 1990 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid, with Sheikh Mohammed appointed Crown Prince in 1995.

During this time, he oversaw the development of the Burj Al Arab, which opened in September 1999. It was a hotel that introduced Dubai to the world and remains an iconic feature of the skyline.

He is also dedicated to helping those most in need. In 2003, Sheikh Mohammed established the International Humanitarian City, which is now an important global logistics hub for humanitarian aid.

Sheikh Mohammed's lifetime of public service: in pictures

Sheikh Mohammed became Ruler in 2006 after the death of Sheikh Maktoum. Dubai's transformation into a global city happened under his watch. Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, opened in 2010. Other major projects such as Dubai Marina, Dubai Metro and shopping centres such as Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates elevated Dubai even more.

More recently, Sheikh Mohammed ensured Dubai recovered from Covid-19 faster than most countries and also oversaw the safe and successful staging of Expo 2020 Dubai which attracted people from across the globe.

From the small town Sheikh Mohammed was born in, Dubai's population is now about 3.5 million today with people from across the world seeking to live and work in the emirate.

And it already looks like a busy year for 2023. Sheikh Mohammed on January 2 set out the UAE's five key priorities for the year during the first Cabinet meeting of 2023. He said the UAE would focus on consolidating its national identity; championing the environment and sustainability; developing the education sector; boosting Emiratisation policies; and expanding economic partnerships across the globe.

It is a particularly important year for the environment. The Expo site, now known as Expo City Dubai, will host a major UN climate summit in November.

Heads of state from across the world will gather in Dubai for Cop28 and will try to find solutions for one of the world's most pressing problems, climate change.