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