His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai was born in 1949.
When he was just 18 he was present while Sheikh Rashid and Sheikh Zayed met in the desert between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 1968 to agree on the union of the two emirates.
In the nearly five decades since, the whole of the UAE has changed and developed at a pace that no one could ever have imagined – and Sheikh Mohammed (who was behind the founding and building of everything from Emirates Airlines to the Burj Al Arab) has been instrumental in it all.
In the lead up to the UAE’s 44th National Day, here’s a celebration of Dubai’s ruler via his very own Instagram…
*MORE: 21 Instagrams that prove that Sheikh Hamdan is the world’s most athletic royal*
1. A young Sheikh Mohammed back when Dubai was very different to how it is now (the dirham didn’t even exist in the 1950s – in fact, it was the Indian Rupee that was widely used as currency in the trading town).
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Oct 12, 2012 at 10:59am PDT
2. Two visionaries: A young Sheikh Mohammed with Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Sep 19, 2012 at 5:04am PDT
3. With his brother, who he calls “his mentor”, the late Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who was the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai until 2006.
تعلمت كثيرا من أخي المغفور له بإذن الله تعالى الشيخ مكتوم، فحكمته كانت مصدر إلهام لي ودليلاً هادياً على طريق التميز الذي وضعنا لبناته الأولى معاً لكي تسير عليه دبي نحو مستقبل حافل بالنجاح. #دبي #الامارات My brother, the late Sheikh Maktoum, may God rest his soul, was my mentor, my inspiration and my guide in shaping the vision for Dubai’s growth and development. #dubai #uae #sheikhmohammed #mohammedbinrashid #hhshkmohd
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Feb 5, 2013 at 2:05am PST
4. Sheikh Mohammed was once the head of the Dubai Police and Defence Force, and here he is honouring UAE servicemen with medals.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Nov 1, 2012 at 10:21am PDT
5. In this Instagram he tells us that the desert is where he finds both his peace and his inspiration.
الصحراء بالنسبة لي السلام والإلهام.. I have found my peace and inspiration in the desert. This was taken during a hunting trip
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Jul 20, 2013 at 12:43pm PDT
6. At a conference dealing with the challenges of building a new nation with Saif Ghobash, who was the UAE’s first Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Taryam Omran, who founded the Al Khaleej – the UAE’s first newspaper.
مع سيف غباش وتريم عمران في أحد المؤتمرات .. كانت الامارات دولة وليدة .. وكانت التحديات كبيرة .. ولكن روح الاتحاد كانت تسري فينا وما زالت لتعطينا العزيمة والقوة لبناء هذه الدولة With Saif Ghobash and Taryam Omran during a conference …. The UAE was a newly established state and the challenges ahead of us were great….but with the spirit of the union running through us, as it still does today, we had the strength and determination to build this country
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Jul 22, 2013 at 1:24pm PDT
7. This may just be the cutest camel we’ve ever seen.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Aug 9, 2012 at 12:03am PDT
8. Giving fatherly advice to a young Sheikh Hamdan, who is now the Crown Prince of Dubai.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Oct 5, 2012 at 9:32am PDT
9. Performing Eid al Fitr prayers with two of his sons.
صلاة عيد الفطر المبارك Eid Al Fitr prayer
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Aug 19, 2012 at 2:47am PDT
10. His love for horses goes way back: he was taught how to ride at a young age by his father, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Oct 31, 2012 at 6:06am PDT
11. He’s a very skilled rider, particularly in the field of endurance racing. With races at around 120-kilometres long, endurance racing is the horse riding equivalent of a marathon. Sheikh Mohammed is known as a master tactician of the race, sensing when to really push and when to hold back in order to achieve the best possible result overall.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Aug 25, 2012 at 11:52am PDT
12. And here he is galloping past the Pyramids in Egypt.
#sheikhmohammed #dubai #mohammedbinrashid #hhshkmohd #uae
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Nov 9, 2012 at 2:26am PST
13. He doesn’t always need to be surrounded by the finer things in life, and he captioned this image: “A life of simplicity means the world to me”.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Feb 22, 2013 at 2:30am PST
14. As evidence of the above, here he is teaching his sons how to cook a meal with nothing but a pot and some logs.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Mar 13, 2015 at 4:49am PDT
15. He stumbled across this group from a Chinese company sitting under a Ghaf tree having a brainstorm session while out in the desert. So what did he do? He joined them.
في جولة صحراوية صباحا مع ابنتي الجليلة تفاجأت بمجموعة موظفين في جلسة عصف ذهني تحت غافة وسط الصحراء .. أعجبتني فكرتهم. شركتهم من الصين .. جلست معهم وسألتهم عن بعض أفكارهم .. وتحدثنا عن تجربتهم في الامارات .. قضيت وقتا جميلا معهم I was in the desert with my daughter Al-Jalila, and we came across a group of employees having brainstorming session under a ghaf tree. I liked the idea. Their company is from China. I sat down with them and asked them about some of their ideas and we talked about their experience in the UAE. I enjoyed my time with them
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Mar 8, 2014 at 2:06am PST
16. With Abdullah Al Hasani, a Fujairah retiree. Sheikh Mohammed read about the man’s health problems in the paper, and so then went out of his way to make sure he was receiving the best possible treatment.
حرصت على زيارة أسرة المواطن علي عبدالله الحساني وهو رجل تسعيني مقعد يسكن في منطقة الرحيل بالفجيرة وكنت قد قرأت عن حالته الصحية في إحدي الصحف المحلية وأمرت حينها بتوفير العلاج اللازم له ولزوجته واليوم حرصت على زيارة علي الحساني للاطمئنان على صحته I was keen to visit the family of Ali Abdullah Al Hasani, a retiree in his 90s who lives in Fujairah. I had read about his health problems in one of the local newspapers and immediately made sure he and his wife received the necessary treatment. So today, I was eager to visit him and see for myself how he is doing
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Nov 26, 2013 at 10:22am PST
17. Meeting the locals while travelling through Africa.
استمتع بمقابلة الناس عندما أكون مسافرا Whenever I travel, one of the things I enjoy most is getting to know the people. This was taken during one of my trips to Africa.
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Apr 17, 2013 at 4:42am PDT
18. With the brave Emirati men who make up the military’s flying aerobatics team Al Fursan (they pull off mid-air tricks and stunts while in super-speedy jets).
التقيت بفريق فرسان الإمارات الذين يقومون باستعراضات جوية في سماء معرض البحرين الدولي للطيران في دورته الثالثة I met the UAE’s Al-Fursan aerobatics team who are participating in the flying displays at the third Bahrain International Airshow 2014
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Jan 17, 2014 at 9:29am PST
19. Keeping fit on the bike with friends and family.
الرياضة مصدر للطاقة الإيجابية..قضينا وقت ممتع أنا وابني حمدان مع إخواني طحنون بن زايد ومنصور بن زايد Sport is a source of positive energy. I enjoyed the time spent with my son Hamdan and my brothers Tahnoon bin Zayed and Mansour bin Zayed
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Jul 24, 2014 at 11:01am PDT
20. With his youngest children Sheikha Al Jalila bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum & Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who are now seven and three respectively.
مع الجليلة وزايد With Al Jalila & Zayed
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Dec 23, 2014 at 10:11am PST
21. And here he is, just a week ago, taking advantage of the cooler weather and enjoying a desert feast with his family.
مع الأبناء والاصدقاء في اجواء شتوية أسرية..
A photo posted by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (@hhshkmohd) on
Nov 12, 2015 at 5:44am PST
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