The ruler of Dubai () is the position of the hereditary monarch and

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

of the

Emirate of Dubai The Emirate of Dubai 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. Governance Dubai is governed as an absolute monarchy by the A ...

. The Ruler is also considered the head of the House of Maktoum, the royal family of Dubai and one of the six ruling families of the UAE. After the unification of the Emirate of Dubai within the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

, the Ruler of Dubai nominally assumes the position of

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the United Arab Emirates and sits at the seat reserved for Dubai at the

Federal Supreme Council The Federal Supreme Council (), also known as the Supreme Council of Rulers, is the highest constitutional authority in the United Arab Emirates, being the highest legislative and executive body. It replaced the earlier Trucial States Council ...

History

In 1833, a migrating offshoot of the ruling

Bani Yas The Bani Yas () is a tribe, tribal confederation of Najdi origin in the United Arab Emirates. The tribal coalition, consisting of tribes from Dubai to Khor Al Adaid in southeast Qatar, was called the Bani Yas Coalition (). The House of Nahyan, Al ...

tribe of

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

settled to the small fishing village of Bur Dubai where Sheikh Maktoum bin Butti bin Suhail become the sole Ruler of Dubai by 1836, establishing the

Al Maktoum The House of Maktoum ( ') 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 the Al Nahyan dynas ...

dynasty. The relatively small Dubai relied on fishing, pearling, and foreign trade between the much larger

Al Nahyan The House of Nahyan () is the ruling royal family of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and one of the Royal families of the United Arab Emirates, six ruling families of the United Arab Emirates. The family is a branch of the House of Al Falahi (Āl Bū ...

dynasty in Abu Dhabi and the

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

dynasty of

Sharjah Sharjah (; ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi. It is the capital of the Emirate of Sharjah and forms part of the D ...

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 The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

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, or Trucial Oman, was a group of tribal confederations to the south of the Persian Gulf (southeastern Arabia) whose leaders had signed protective treaties, or truce ...

. Following the withdrawal of the United Kingdom in 1971, then-Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum joined with other ruling families of the former

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 The Government of Dubai () is the subnational authority that governs the Emirate of Dubai, one of the seven constituent monarchies which make up the United Arab Emirates. The executive authority and head of the government is the Ruler of Dubai, Sh ...

, 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 Emirate 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

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.

History

Functions and authority

Rulers of Dubai (1833–present)

Genealogy

See also

References