Dubai gets new crown prince
Dubai,
Feb
2:
The
booming
Gulf
city
state
has
got
a
new
crown
prince
in
Sheikh
Hamdan.
He
is
the
son
of
Dubai
ruler
Sheikh
Mohammad
bin
Rashed
al-Maktoum
and
was
appointed
by
him,
the
official
WAM
news
agency
reported
yesterday.
Vice-President
and
prime
minister
of
the
United
Arab
Emirates
Sheikh
Mohammad
issued
a
decree
appointing
Sheikh
Hamdan
bin
Mohammad,
26,
as
crown
prince
from
February
1.
The
new
crown
prince
is
a
graduate
of
Britain's
Sandhurst
military
academy,
heads
Dubai's
executive
council
which
supervises
public
sector
and
development
strategies,
it
said.
The post of Dubai's crown prince had been left vacant since Sheikh Mohammad, who was himself crown prince, succeeded his late brother Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashed as ruler in January 2006.
In another decree, the ruler appointed a younger son, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammad, 25, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashed, a brother of the ruler, as his two deputies.
Dubai is one of seven emirates which form the oil-rich UAE federation and has established itself as a regional business and tourism hub.
UNI