Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum took over as ruler of Dubai in 2006, when his elder brother, Sheikh Maktum, passed away. With his coming to power, many transformations and significant events were associated, including the construction of the Burj Khalifa, the famous Palm Islands and the creation of the Emirates airline. Today, the whole world knows these projects and considers them to be perhaps the main symbols of the United Arab Emirates. Having established himself as a progressive politician, Sheikh Mohammed remains faithful to his traditions in his personal life. He married several times and has many children.
The ruler of Dubai and his family
The future ruler of Dubai was born July 15, 1949 in the family of Sheikh Rashid ibn Saeed Al Maktoum. His father and the ruler of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed, stood at the origins of the creation of the UAE state, and Mohammed in 1971 was appointed the first Minister of Defense in the history of the new country. The elder brother, Sheikh Maktum, named him his successor on January 3, 1995, and in fact from that time he began to informally rule in the capital of the emirate, having implemented many transformations and successful business projects. Sheikh Mohammed stood at the origins of the creation and development of Emirates and its budget counterpart, FlyDubai. With his efforts, the transformation and entry into the international level of the port operator DP World, which is one of the three world market leaders, was achieved. The wonders of Dubai architecture - the Burj Al-Arab Hotel, the Palm Islands, the Burj Khalifa skyscraper - were designed and built under the leadership of the emirate’s head.
The personal lives of the rulers of the UAE, for the most part, remain in the shadows, although not as closed as in Saudi Arabia. It is known that for the first time Sheikh Mohammed married in 1979 his cousin Hind Bint Maktoum ibn Juma Al Maktoum. With their first wife, they had 12 children - 5 sons and 7 daughters. Rashid, the eldest son of the sheikh and his first wife, was to become the crown prince of Dubai. However, he abdicated, and on February 1, 2008, this title officially passed to his younger brother Hamdan. And in September 2015, Prince Rashid died of a heart attack. Although, according to other information, he was killed by Yemeni terrorists during the military conflict, which was supported by the UAE authorities in the territory of this country.
The second, most famous and public, wife of Sheikh Mohammed is Haya bint al-Hussein. They got married on April 10, 2004. The spouses have a daughter, Al Jalil and a son, Zayed.
According to unconfirmed information, the ruler of Dubai had four more wives - one of Lebanese descent, one from Morocco, as well as Turkish and Greek. Their real names and details of the biography are not advertised. They say that the loving emir divorced them shortly before the wedding with Princess Haya. Therefore, officially, he has only two companions in life, both of them wearing the title of First Lady of Dubai. In total, from four unknown wives, Sheikh Mohammed has 11 more children. Many of them are already quite old and are well known to the public.
For example, a very scandalous story in the sheikh’s family is connected with one of his daughters from a Moroccan wife - Huria Ahmed al Maash. In March 2018, a video appeared in free access in which Princess Latifa accused her family of abuse and claimed that her father was responsible for a number of killings. The girl tried to escape from the country, but the plan failed, and she was returned home. For many months, the fate of the princess was unknown, causing concern for human rights organizations.
Finally, in December 2018, Mary Robinson, the former UN Human Rights Representative, visited Latifu. She said that the girl suffers from a psychiatric disorder and receives the necessary therapy. Not everyone believed the words of Robinson, accusing her of unfounded allegations, not even supported by a medical education.
First wife Hind Bandage Maktum
Along with Princess Haya, Hind Bint Maktoum is Sheikh Mohammed's most famous wife. However, she leads a fairly secluded lifestyle and rarely appears in public. In addition, her official photos have never been shown publicly. This mysterious woman was born in 1962. Her paternal grandfather was the brother of Sheikh Saeed, the grandfather of the current ruler of Dubai and her husband Hind.
She married Mohammed at the age of 17 on April 26, 1979. This wedding is considered the first large-scale public event in the history of Dubai. The celebration was so luxurious that it was more like a national holiday. Especially for the wedding, a stadium was built for 20 thousand seats, where the audience was entertained by the performances of riders on horses and camels, and a demonstration show of the Dubai Air Force unfolded in the sky. The total cost of weddings was about $ 100 million.
After marriage, Sheikh Hind chose to follow the Islamic system of female seclusion, refusing to accompany her husband at public events. At the moment, it is the main matriarchy of the royal family of Dubai. Moreover, the eldest and younger wives of Mohammed live separately. In addition to native children, Hind is engaged in raising orphans, whom she adopted from charity motives.
