UAE finance minister and deputy ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan dies at 75

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy ruler of Dubai and the finance minister of the United Arab Emirates, has died. Sheikh Hamdan served as deputy leader of Dubai under his brother, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the hereditary ruler of the city-state who also serves as prime minister and vice president of the UAE. Emirati officials announced his death without specifying the cause. Sheikh Hamdan had been in poor health for several months. Last fall, he flew abroad for an unspecified surgery and in recent weeks his brother Sheikh Mohammed tweeted prayers for his recovery.

Born December 25, 1949, the second son of late ruler Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, he grew up in what was known as the Trucial States, a collection of Arab sheikhdoms along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf that was part of a British protectorate since 1820.He led Emirati delegations to the International Monetary Fund and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Fund for international development. Sheikh Hamdan controlled a wide array of conglomerates reaching Dubai’s economy, such as the Dubai Ports Authority, Dubai World Trade Center and Dubai Natural Gas ‎Company Limited. His funeral service will be restricted to the family because of COVID-19 , according to Dubai's government-run media office, which ordered government offices closed for three days of mourning.