UAE government has made a powerful statement by announcing its new minister of Defense in a major cabinet reshuffle, the second of its kind, this year.
Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, joined the UAE’s federal government on Sunday after being given the portfolios of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai announced the nominations that included seven modifications.
Here is everything you want to know about the new ministers and portfolios.
New Minister of Defense after 53 years:
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid was UAE’s first defense minister since he turned 22, thanks to the Emirates’ unification in 1971. After 53years of being the defense minister, the Dubai Ruler passed on his baton to Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan.
New Deputy Prime Ministers
Two Deputy Prime Ministers were also appointed. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan who also serves as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has been assigned Deputy PM along with Sheikh Hamdan.
Now UAE has five Deputy Prime Ministers in the federal government, including Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Lieutenant General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Minister of Education
The new Minister of Education is Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, formerly Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology. Dr Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi was the Minister of Education from 2022 to 2024. In the 2022 cabinet reshuffle, Al Falasi was appointed as Education Minister, and more powers were given to the Emirates Schools Establishment administering public schools, and the federal authority for childhood education, in order to monitor children’s educational progress from birth until the end of fourth grade.
Now the institutions have been integrated, in order to incorporate the Emirates Schools Establishment and the Federal Authority for Early Education into the Ministry of Education led by Sarah Al Amiri.
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research made a return after a decade as it was one of the new ministries in this reshuffle. Earlier, the ministry was part of the Ministry of Education. Abdulrahman Al Awar will act as the minister for the ministry along with the currently held portfolio of the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization.
The seasoned cabinet minister has prior experience in the education sector, wherein he held positions such as Chancellor and Chairman of the Board of Trustees with the Higher Colleges of Technology, among others and was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Dubai.
Ministry of Sports
The Ministry of Sports was established back in 1971. Later, it was merged with the Ministry of Education and underwent many organizational changes until 2008, when the General Authority of Sports was established to handle the UAE’s Sports Sector.
The Ministry of Sports has now come after 16 years. Its new minister is the chairman of the General Authority of Sports. The former Minister of Education is currently represented by Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi. Since 2021, he has chaired the General Authority of Sports and, accordingly, central to the Sports Sector in the UAE.
Minister of State for Entrepreneurship
This will be her first stint in the federal government as Alia Abdulla Al Mazrouei has been made Minister of State for Entrepreneurship.
The new minister possesses a lot of experience in the private sector, venture capital, and entrepreneurship. Since February 2022, she has served as the Chief Executive Officer at Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development. She has been fundamental in advocating for entrepreneurship and championing them by establishing small and medium-sized enterprises in Abu Dhabi.
The first reshuffle of 2024 in January included Sultan AlNeyadi as Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Amna Bin Dahak AlShamsi as the minister of climate change and environment, and Mohammed Al Mazrouei as minister of state for defense affairs.