Timeframe: When Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid became Crown Prince of Dubai

After becoming Crown Prince on January 3, 1995, he took on the mantle of Ruler of Dubai in 2006

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan is welcomed by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan upon his return to the UAE from a trip abroad on September 5, 1995. National Archives

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum of Dubai (left) in the Parade Ring on Day 2 of Royal Ascot week at Ascot racecourse in Ascot, England in June 1995:. Getty Images

Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum watching the final race of the Annual Camel Festival at Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, 10th April 1996. WAM

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid listens to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed during the closing ceremony for the Equestrian World Endurance Championship in Abu Dhabi. AFP

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid  talks with trainer Bob Baffert, ahead of the 1999 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY. AFP

Former South Africa president Nelson Mandela and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attend the Emirates International Forum conference on economic development in Dubai 28 February 2000. AFP

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then Crown Prince of Dubai, presents the International Zayed Prize for the Environment to former US president Jimmy Carter in Dubai on April 22 2001. AFP

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, inspects the excavations at Saruq Al Hadid, which he sighted from a helicopter in 2002. WAM

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid and his son Sheikh Hamdan take part in the Horses Capacity and Endurance Championship in Kuwait City, in 2003. AFP

Princess Haya, King Abdullah II's half-sister, signs her wedding register to Dubai's then Crown Prince and Defence Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid at Baraka Palace in Amman, Jordan, Saturday April 10, 2004. AP

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then UAE Minster of Defence and Crown Prince of Dubai, meets with golf legend Tiger Woods after the 2004 Dubai Desert Classic played on the Majilis Course at the Emirates Golf Club. Getty Images

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum presents United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan with the Zayed International Prize for the Environment in Dubai on February 6, 2006. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid took up the mantle of Ruler of Dubai a month before this picture was taken. AFP

January has a special resonance for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.

On this month in 1995, he was appointed Crown Prince of Dubai by his brother and Ruler at the time, Sheikh Maktoum. Eleven years later, on January 4, 2006, Sheikh Mohammed became Ruler of Dubai. During those years in between, he would lead several initiatives that laid the foundations of the emirate as a global centre for trade and tourism.

One of the first projects he introduced was the e-government initiative, which was launched in 1995. This was during a time when most were barely considering the internet in their daily lives and did not foresee the enormous effect it would have on our society.

In late 1995, he announced a staple of the emirate’s tourism calendar: Dubai Shopping Festival. The annual month-long retail event, which was first held in 1996, is famous for its huge discounts, car raffles, firework displays and prize draws. The festival was another way to attract people to Dubai at a time when its global reputation was still emerging.

In the next few years, Sheikh Mohammed would lead several noteworthy projects as crown prince. These included a $540 million airport expansion, as well as free zone projects including Dubai Media City and Dubai International Financial Centre. In 1999, he issued an 18-month deadline to make Dubai government services fully online and ordered the creation of Dubai Internet City, recognising the growing importance of the worldwide digital economy.

Under the direction of Sheikh Mohammed, Dubai’s best known hotel, Burj Al Arab, was officially opened in December 1999. The structure became emblematic of Dubai’s burgeoning status. In 2001, he inaugurated construction of the Palm Jumeirah, another development that would capture the world’s attention and define the new Dubai.

After the death of Sheikh Maktoum, Sheikh Mohammed became Ruler of Dubai on January 4, 2006. The next day he was appointed Vice President of the UAE and in February was nominated for the role of Prime Minister by President Sheikh Khalifa. In February 2008, he appointed his son, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, as Crown Prince of Dubai.

Dubai’s drive into the future has accelerated in the years since Sheikh Mohammed assumed the position of the emirate’s leader. He ensured Dubai withstood the challenges of the global financial downturn of late 2008, and saw the construction of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, in the first four years of his rule, the Dubai Mall, and the opening of the Dubai Metro in 2009.