Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Over the Years

If you live in the UAE, you probably know or have heard the name of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Today, marks his birthday let's take a look at Sheikh Mohammed over the years!

 Sheikh Mohammed is known for his almost photographic memory, Sheikh Mohammed progressed quickly through Dubai Secondary School. At the end of the 1964/1965 academic year, he easily passed exams in the main strands of the school's curriculum. With this in mind, Sheikh Rashid started looking at military training options for his third son. But first, the young prince needed a complete grounding in the English language. In August 1966, Sheikh Mohammed flew to London. He was accompanied by his cousin, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum. They enrolled in the Bell School of Languages, in Cambridge, one of Europe's best-regarded language schools.

To prepare further for his future role in Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed attended Mons Officer Cadet School - Aldershot, which is now part of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

During the latter stages of the six-month course, H. H. was promoted to Senior Under-Officer of Kohema and was later awarded the sword of honour for achieving the highest mark of any foreign and commonwealth officer cadet in his intake.

Sheikh Mohammed is also known for his interest in composing poetry, as Sheikh Mohammed began composing Nabati poetry while he was still at school. His father, late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum and late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, then President influenced greatly his development as a poet.

When Sheikh Mohammed's poems were first published in the newspapers, they appeared under several fictitious names including Nedawi and Saleet. He wanted to be sure that people genuinely admired his poetry, and that the newspapers were not publishing his poetry just because he was a member of the ruling family.

Nowadays, he is widely acknowledged as one of the finest exponents of Nabati verses and his work is published under his own name. An English-language collection of his poems, 'Poems from the Desert', has been on best-seller lists for more than two years.

Poetry has allowed Sheikh Mohammed to express the creative, sensitive side of his nature, which he has little chance to display in the political arena. His poems cover a wide range of subjects; from romance to current affairs.

Image Source: Princesshaya.net