Saud bin Saqr al Qasimi

Saud was born in Dubai on 10 February 1956. He is the fourth son of Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, his predecessor as the Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah and UAE Supreme Council Member, who died on 27 October 2010. He completed both his primary and secondary education in Ras Al Khaimah and then attended the American University of Beirut (AUB) in July 1973 to pursue his studies in economics. When the Lebanese civil war broke out in Beirut in 1975, Saud transferred to the University of Michigan, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics and political science.

Royal accession

On his return to Ras Al Khaimah in 1979, Saud was appointed Chief of the Ruler's Court to assist his father, Saqr, in the administration of the sheikhdom. Saud became Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah when his father dismissed his elder half-brother, Khalid bin Saqr Al Qasimi on 14 June 2003 for his hostility towards the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. Abu Dhabi, the lead emirate of the UAE, sanctioned the dismissal and demonstrated support for Saud by sending armored vehicles to Ras Al Khaimah. On 27 October 2010, upon the death of his father, who ruled Ras Al Khaimah for 62 years, Saud officially became the Ruler, according to a statement from the seven-member federation of the United Arab Emirates.

Business career

In 1986, Saud became the Chairman of the Ras Al Khaimah Municipal Council. In 1989, he recruited the Swiss-Lebanese engineer Khater Massaad, who helped Saud develop comprehensive industrialization plans for Ras Al Khaimah, the most important being the establishment of RAK Ceramics. The company was formed when Saud and Massaad recognized the potential of exploiting the abundant raw materials in Ras Al Khaimah for use in the production of ceramics. With Massaad as CEO, RAK Ceramics tile and sanitary ware production facilities were created from scratch 15 kilometers southwest of the town of Ras Al Khaimah, at Al Jazira Al Hamra. Relying since its creation in 1991 on inexpensive Asian labor, the company became the largest producer in the world over a period of about 20 years. As of 31 December 2012, Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi personally continues to be the largest individual shareholder (39.88 percent of total shares), while the Government of Ras Al Khaimah benefits from a 4.98 percent stake in RAK Ceramics. In 2014, Ras Al Khaimah Ceramics declared that its founding stakeholder, Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, had agreed to sell 250 million shares of the company.

Achievements

Soon after Saud's accession as Crown Prince, the RAK Government asked the World Bank to conduct a study on the foreign investment avenues available to the emirate and formulated a comprehensive master plan for development. In 2005, RAK Government and the World Bank organised a conference called 'Live and Invest in Ras Al Khaimah' to present before investors the vast potential that the emirate holds for investment.

Saud's reform initiatives improved the emirate GDP per capita from AED 35,000 in 2001 to AED 118,621 in 2025.

Saud has received several awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton, UK, in 2010; an honorary fellowship of the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in India, in 2013; and an honorary doctorate degree in economics from Incheon National University, South Korea, in 2018. The award from the University of Bolton was given in recognition of his role in supporting education in the emirate and for attracting leading academic institutions from around the world to Ras Al Khaimah. In November 2018, he was named Visionary Leader of the Year at the Arabian Business Awards in Dubai.

Saud is married to Hana bint Juma Al Majid, who holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and Accounting from United Arab Emirates University. They have six children.

Mohammed (Crown Prince) (political science degree from the University of California, USA); Amneh (MBA from Stanford University in California, USA) (Chairperson of RAK Investment and Development Office); Ahmed (Sandhurst Military Academy, UK) (Chairman of RAK Public Services Department, Chairman of RAK Hospitality Holding, Chairman of RAK Petroleum Authority, President of Al Rams Sports and Cultural Club); Khalid (degree in business management from New York University Abu Dhabi) (Vice-chairman of RAK Investment and Development Office), Saqr (Bachelor of Science degree in banking and international finance from Bayes School, City University of London) (Chairman of RAK Ceramics) and Mahra (bachelor of public policy and social research from New York University Abu Dhabi).

Saud's four sons previously served in the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces National Service.