House of Maktoum

In 1833, about 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, under the joint leadership of Sheikh Maktoum bin Butti and Obeid bin Said, took over the emirate of Dubai. After Obeid bin Said died of old age in 1836, Maktoum bin Butti took the reins as the sole ruler and established the Al Maktoum dynasty in the emirate.[1][2]

The Al Maktoum dynasty has ruled Dubai since 1833.[3] Within the federation of the United Arab Emirates, the Federal Supreme Council consists of the individual rulers of the seven emirates. The president and vice-president are elected by the Supreme Council every five years.[4] Although unofficial, the presidency is de facto hereditary to the Al Nahyan clan of Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the Prime Minister, Vice President and Minister of Defence post de facto is hereditary to the Al Maktoum clan of Dubai.

The following Al Maktoum family members have ruled Dubai:[1]

Name	Lifespan	Reign start	Reign end	Notes	Family	Image
Maktoum bin Butti bin Suhail مكتوم بن بطي	Unknown – 1852	9 July 1833	1852 (death by smallpox)	Joint founder of the Al Maktoum clan and first ruler of Dubai, alongside Obeid bin Said bin Rashid	House of Al Falasi
Saeed bin Butti سعيد بن بطي	Unknown – 1859	1852	1859 (death by smallpox)	Brother of Maktoum bin Butti bin Suhail	House of Al Falasi
Hasher bin Maktoum bin Butti Al Maktoum حشر بن مكتوم بن بطي آلمكتوم	Unknown – 1886	1859	22 November 1886 (death by natural causes)	Nephew of Saeed bin Butti	House of Al Falasi
Rashid bin Maktoum راشد بن مكتوم	Unknown – 1894	22 November 1886	7 April 1894 (death by paralytic seizure)	Brother of Hasher bin Maktoum bin Butti Al Maktoum	House of Al Maktoum
Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum مكتوم بن حشر آل مكتوم	Unknown – 1906	7 April 1894	16 February 1906 (death by heart disease)	Nephew of Rashid bin Maktoum	House of Al Maktoum
Butti bin Suhail Al Maktoum ٱلشَّيْخ بُطِّي بِن سُهَيْل آل مَكْتُوْم	1850 – 1912	16 February 1906	November 1912 (death by natural causes)	Cousin of Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum	House of Al Maktoum
Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum سعيد بن مكتوم آل مكتوم	1878 – 9 September 1958	November 1912	September 1958 (death by natural causes)	Son of Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum	House of Al Maktoum
Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum راشد بن سعيد آل مكتوم	11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990	September 1958	7 October 1990 (death by natural causes)	Son of Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum and one of the founders of the United Arab Emirates in 1971.	House of Al Maktoum
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum مكتوم بن راشد آل مكتوم	15 August 1943 – 4 January 2006	7 October 1990	4 January 2006 (death by heart attack)	Son of Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum	House of Al Maktoum
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum مُحَمَّد بن رَاشِد آل مَكتُوم	15 July 1949 – current	4 January 2006	Incumbent	Son of Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum. Current Ruler of Dubai, Vice President, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the United Arab Emirates[5]	House of Al Maktoum

The Al Maktoum family owns Godolphin, one of the premier thoroughbred studs.[6]

In 2001, Sheikha Shamsa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum alleged that she was kidnapped off the streets of Cambridge by her father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s men.[7]

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum also alleged that she was kidnapped off the coast of India on the orders of her father. She has stated that she was detained under police guard in Dubai.[8] The actions taken against the princesses was allegedly motivated by a desire to protect the reputation of the Al Maktoum family.[9]

On 29 June 2019, The Sun reported that the wife of Sheikh Mohammed, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, had fled Dubai and was in Germany seeking political asylum along with her children son and daughter.[10][11][12] The cause of the departure was unknown,[13] despite a poem reportedly composed by Dubai’s ruler alluding to betrayal.[13][14] On 30 July 2019 at the High Court, she filed for the sole custody of their two children, for a forced marriage protection order (FMPO), a non-molestation order, and non-repatriation to Dubai.[15]

In December 2019, a UK family court ruled that—on the balance of probabilities—Sheikh Mohammed had orchestrated the abductions of Sheikha Latifa and Sheikha Shamsa and that he continued to maintain a regime whereby both were deprived of their liberty, and had subjected his former wife, Princess Haya, to a campaign of "intimidation"; the findings were published in March 2020.[16][17][18]

• House of Nayhan
• House of Al Falasi
• Bani Hareth
• Banu Yam
• Banu Thaqif
• Al Saud
• Liwa Oasis