Sheikh Maktoum dies while at thoroughbred sale in Australia

Dubai: The emir of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum, died yesterday of a heart attack while on a visit to Australia.

He was also vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a confederation formed in 1971 by the seven Trucial Coast emirates.

He became ruler of Dubai in 1990 but handed over power to his younger brother, Sheikh Mohammed, crown prince and defence minister, to devote all his time to his passion, the breeding, training, and racing of thoroughbred horses.

Sheikh Maktoum travelled to the Gold Coast in eastern Queensland on December 28th to attend the world-renowned yearling sale dubbed "the Magic Millions". His body was flown home for burial this evening, in accordance with Muslim custom.

The succession of Sheikh Mohammed was according to the constitution. The transfer of power was as seamless as was the elevation of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan to the post of ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE on the death of his father, Sheikh Zayed, the father of the federation, in November 2004.

Sheikh Mohammed is not only a horse breeder and a jet-setting businessman, but is also the driving force behind Dubai's modernisation and development.Over the past decade he has helped transform Dubai, once a small trading port and harbour for pearl fishermen, into a grand metropolis of gleaming glass skyscrapers, broad avenues and parks.

Unlike the larger neighbouring emirate of Abu Dhabi, Dubai has little oil to fuel development so, under Sheikh Mohammed's management, the emirate became a regional centre for banking, finance and investment, information technology, media, shopping, and tourism.

He has built up the media, internet technology and medical cities, and lent his support to the ambitious Palm project, a residential development consisting of a collection of man-made islets off Dubai's coast.

He has always plumped for the biggest and the best.

One of the world's most luxurious and expensive hotels, Burj al-Arab, designed to resemble a Gulf sailing vessel, is located in Dubai and the emirate is in the process of constructing the globe's tallest skyscraper.

Sheikh Mohammed is a patron of education and promotes jobs for women, which was until a few years ago anathema in his deeply conservative country.

He is married to Jordanian Princess Haya, sister of King Abdullah and daughter of the late King Hussein. Sheikh Mohammed is the obvious candidate to succeed Sheikh Maktoum as vice-president of the UAE and prime minister.