The United Arab Emirates is a constitutional
federation of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai,
Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, Ras Al Khaimah and
Fujairah. The federation was formally established on
2 December 1971.
Since the establishment of the federation in 1971,
the seven emirates that comprise the United Arab
Emirates (UAE) have forged a distinct national
identity through consolidation of their federal
status and enjoy an enviable degree of political
stability. The UAE's political system, a unique
combination of the traditional and the modern, has
underpinned this political success, enabling the
country to develop a modern administrative structure
while, at the same time, ensuring that the best of
the traditions of the past are maintained, adapted
and preserved.
Each of the component emirates already had its own
existing institutions of government prior to 1971
and, to provide for the effective governing of the
new state, the rulers agreed to draw up a
provisional Constitution specifying the powers that
were to be allocated to the new federal
institutions, all others remaining the prerogative
of the emirates.
Areas of responsibility assigned to the federal
authorities, under Articles 120 and 121 of the
Constitution, were foreign affairs, security and
defense, nationality and immigration issues,
education, public health, currency, postal,
telephone and other communications services, air
traffic control and licensing of aircraft, in
addition to a number of other topics specifically
prescribed, including labor relations, banking,
delimitation of territorial waters and extradition
of criminals. The Constitution also stated in
Article 116 that 'the Emirates shall exercise all
powers not assigned to the Federation by this
Constitution'. This was reaffirmed in Article 122,
which stated that 'the Emirates shall have
jurisdiction in all matters not assigned to the
exclusive jurisdiction of the Federation, in
accordance with the provision of the preceding two
Articles'.
In May 1996, the Federal Supreme Council approved
two amendments to the provisional Constitution,
making it permanent and naming Abu Dhabi as the
capital of the state.
The federal system of government includes a Supreme
Council, a Cabinet, or Council of Ministers, a
parliamentary body, the Federal National Council,
and an independent judiciary, at the apex of which
is the Federal Supreme Court.
Federal Supreme Council
During their initial discussions on forming a
federation, the rulers of the seven emirates agreed
that each of them would be a member of a Supreme
Council, the top policy-making body in the new state
and that they would elect a President and a Vice
President from amongst their number, to serve for a
five-year, renewable, term of office. The Ruler of
Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was
elected as the first President, a post to which he
was re-elected at successive five-yearly intervals
until his death in November 2004, while the Ruler of
Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, was
elected as first Vice President, a post he continued
to hold until his death in 1990. Both were succeeded
by their Crown Princes, who became rulers of their
emirates and were elected by the members of the
Federal Supreme Council to become respectively
President, for the Ruler of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Vice President, for
the Ruler of Dubai. Sheikh Rashid's successor as
Vice-President, Sheikh Maktoum, died in early 2006,
and was succeeded as ruler by his younger brother
and Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, who
was then elected as the UAE's third Vice President.
The Federal Supreme Council has both legislative and
executive powers. It ratifies federal laws and
decrees, plans general policy, approves the
nomination of the Prime Minister and accepts his
resignation. It also relieves him of his post on the
recommendation of the President.
Council of Ministers /
Cabinet
The Council of Ministers or Cabinet, described in
the Constitution as 'the executive authority' for
the Federation, includes the usual complement of
ministerial portfolios and is headed by a Prime
Minister, chosen by the President in consultation
with his colleagues on the Supreme Council. The
Prime Minister, currently the Vice-President
(although this has not always been the case), then
selects the ministers, who may be drawn from any of
the Federation's component emirates, although,
naturally, the more populous emirates have generally
provided more members of each Cabinet.
A 24-member Cabinet was appointed on 11 February
2006, according to the proposal of Vice President HH
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who had been
requested to form a new Government following his
accession as Ruler of Dubai and election as
Vice-President the previous month. This Cabinet was
reshuffled on 17 February 2008 to include a new
portfolio for foreign trade and the realignment of
several ministries of state.
Local Governments
Parallel to, and interlocking with, the federal
institutions, each of the seven emirates also has
its own local government. All have expanded
significantly as a result of the country's growth
over the last 35 years, though they differ in
complexity from emirate to emirate, depending on
factors such as population, area, and degree of
development.
