Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, has issued a federal decree promoting His Highness Sheikh Hamdan. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, is now the Lieutenant General. This comes just a year after he joined the UAE's federal government and was made the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, succeeding his father, Dubai Ruler, High Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum who held the designation since the formation of the UAE in 1971.

أصدر صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان رئيس الدولة القائد الأعلى للقوات المسلحة -حفظه الله- مرسوماً اتحادياً بترفيع سمو الشيخ حمدان بن محمد بن راشد آل مكتوم ولي عهد دبي نائب رئيس مجلس الوزراء وزير الدفاع إلى رتبة فريق أول#وزارة_الدفاع #وزارة_الدفاع_الإماراتية#MOD… pic.twitter.com/DLQxpcYUCE — وزارة الدفاع |MOD UAE (@modgovae) July 29, 2025 Born in 1982, Sheikh Hamdan is the second of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum. He graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the UK in 2001 and later studied at the London School of Economics. He became a Crown Prince of Dubai in 2008. Since then, he has been active in bringing a positive change.

In February this year, Sheikh Hamdan attended the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX), where he met with defence officials from Kazakhstan and Kuwait to discuss training, coordination, and international collaboration. In April, he visited India, meeting the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. They discussed avenues to strengthen defence and military cooperation between the two countries. The young royal has not neglected his other passions as well.

Knowing his love for fitness, he recently launched the 'Dubai Mallathon'. For the uninitiated, shopping malls are set to transform into fitness hubs during morning hours throughout August, as part of an initiative encouraging everyone to stay physically fit. Starting from August 1 to 31, seven major shopping malls will offer dedicated working and running tracks every morning from 7:00 am to 10:00 am. The malls include Dubai Mall, Dubai Hills Mall, Springs Souk, City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, Mall of the Emirates, and Dubai Marina Mall.

Today, we launched the ‘Dubai Mallathon’ – an initiative that transforms shopping malls across the city into indoor fitness tracks, encouraging the Dubai community to stay active comfortably and safely during morning hours throughout August. Aligned with the Dubai Social Agenda… pic.twitter.com/EPMDwYsKc1 — Hamdan bin Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) July 24, 2025