The Ruler of Dubai is the position of the hereditary monarch and

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

of the

Emirate of Dubai The Emirate of Dubai ( ar, إمارة دبيّ; pr. ) is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates. It is the most populous emirate of the UAE. The capital of the emirate is the eponymous city, Dubai. Geography The city of Dubai i ...

, one of the six ruling families of the UAE. The Ruler is also considered the head of the

House of Maktoum The House of Maktoum ( ar, آل مكتوم ') is the ruling royal family of the Emirate of Dubai, and one of the six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates. The family is a branch of the Bani Yas clan (a lineage the family shares with t ...

, the royal family of Dubai. After the unification of the Emirate of Dubai within the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

, the Ruler of Dubai nominally assumes the position of

Vice President of the United Arab Emirates The Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates is the head of government of the Federal government of the United Arab Emirates. While not required by the UAE constitution, the practice is that the ruler of Dubai serve as the prime minister and ...

and

Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates The Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates is the head of government of the Federal government of the United Arab Emirates. While not required by the UAE constitution, the practice is that the ruler of Dubai serve as the prime minister and ...

and sits at the seat reserved for Dubai at the

Federal Supreme Council ) , legislature = , coa_pic = Emblem of the United Arab Emirates.svg , session_room = , house_type = Unicameral , term_limits = , structure2 = , structure2_res = , leader1_type = President , le ...

History

In 1833, a migrating offshoot of the ruling

Bani Yas Bani Yas ( ar, بَنُو ياس) is a tribal confederation of Najdi origin in the United Arab Emirates. The tribal coalition which consists of tribes from Dubai to Khawr al Udayd southeast of Qatar, was called the Bani Yas Coalition. The tribe has ...

tribe of Abu Dhabi settled to the small fishing village of Bur Dubai where

Maktoum bin Butti bin Suhail Maktoum bin Butti (Arabic مكتوم بن بطي) was the joint founder and first ruler of Dubai, today one of the United Arab Emirates, alongside Obeid bin Said bin Rashid, with whom he led a migration of the Al Bu Falasah from Abu Dhabi, secedin ...

become the sole Ruler of Dubai by 1836, establishing the Al-Maktoum dynasty. The relatively small Dubai relied on fishing, pearling, and foreign trade between the much larger

Al Nahyan The House of Nahyan ( ar, آل نهيان, Āl Nohayān) are one of the six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates, and are based in the capital Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Al Nahyan is a branch of the House of Al Falahi (Āl Bū Fal ...

dynasty in Abu Dhabi and the

Al Qasimi Al Qasimi ( ar, القواسم, spelled sometimes as Al Qassimi or Al Qassemi; plural: Al Qawasem ar, القواسم and, archaically, Joasmee) is an Arab dynasty in the Persian Gulf that rules Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, today forming two of ...

dynasty of

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital ...

and establishing good relations with British forces which eventually culminated in the signing of an agreement with the British in 1892 to exclusively deal with the British Empire on all economic and foreign relation matters as part of the

Trucial States The Trucial States ( '), also known as the Trucial Coast ( '), the Trucial Sheikhdoms ( '), Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was the name the British government gave to a group of tribal confederations in southeastern Arabia whose leaders had s ...

. Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom in 1971, then-Ruler of Dubai

Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ( ar, ٱلـشَّـيْـخ رَاشِـد بِـن سَـعِـيْـد آل مَـكْـتُـوْم, Ash-Shaykh Rāshid bin Sa`īd Āl Maktūm; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was the vice president ...

joined with other ruling families of the former Trucial States to form the

, where the position of Ruler of Dubai has retained significant autonomy from the federal government of the UAE with control of the emirate's judiciary, executive and legislative.

Functions and authority

The Ruler of Dubai is the head of the Emirate, and head of the executive in the form of the Government of Dubai, which also runs a judiciary independent from the federal judiciary of the UAE appointed and overseen by the Ruler. The Ruler of Dubai issues royal decrees to establish laws that do not contradict with the UAE Constitution, establish, merge, or dissolve Dubai Government departments, and appoint any key position across the Emirates of Dubai, including members of the Dubai judicial system and members of the Dubai Executive Council, the legislative arm of the Emirate of Dubai. As part of the complex relationship between the ruling Al-Maktoum family and private companies directly or indirectly controlled by the Dubai Government, or members of the ruling family, the Ruler of Dubai has extensive authority and influence over major companies in the Emirate.

Rulers of Dubai (1833-Present)

The rulers of the Emirates of Dubai:

References

{{reflist, 30em Dubai, Ruler

History

Functions and authority

Rulers of Dubai (1833-Present)

See also

References