Larger Cabinet Shuffle Sees Dubai Crown Prince Moved to Defense Minister
Dubai’s crown prince has been appointed as the United Arab Emirates’ defense minister and will also serve as a deputy prime minister to the country’s leader, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Sheikh Maktoum, who has ruled Dubai and served as prime minister since 2006, made the announcement on social media platform X on Monday.
The newly selected defense minister, 41-year-old Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, is an immensely popular member of Dubai’s ruling family and has served as the emirate’s crown prince since 2008.
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Often going by the nickname Fazza, Sheikh Hamdan has amassed over 16 million followers on Instagram.
It is unclear how Hamdan will change Emirati defense policy, if at all.
According to the post, there were also new appointments to the minister of state for entrepreneurship, the minister of education, and the acting minister of higher education and scientific research.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s foreign minister, was also appointed deputy prime minister in the reshuffle.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the two strongest emirates out of the seven, largely balance power in the UAE’s autocratic governmental system. Under this system, Abu Dhabi holds the presidency and selects a royal from Dubai to serve as prime minister and lead the government.
