His Highness Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah was born in Dubai in 1956. He received his education at Al Qasimiah elementary school and Al Siddiq high school in Ras Al Khaimah. He joined the American University of Beirut in 1973, then the University of Michigan, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics.

Upon his return from the United States in 1978, H.H. Sheikh Saud was appointed Chairman of the emiri court of Ras Al Khaimah. In 1986, H.H. became chairman of the Municipal Council in Ras Al Khaimah, where he prioritised developing the emirate’s infrastructure and governance. 

H.H. Sheikh Saud was appointed Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah on June 14, 2003. In his new role, H.H. has demonstrated a remarkable interest in laying down the foundations of a competitive business environment by establishing free zones and industrial complexes in the emirate, facilitating procedures for obtaining commercial licenses, and registering foreign companies in Ras Al Khaimah. On October 27, 2010, H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi officially assumed the rule of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, succeeding his father, the late Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi. 

H.H. Sheikh Saud continued the development journey and doubled efforts to improve the standard of living in the emirate, enhance the quality of services and further develop infrastructures. 

In line with H.H. Sheikh Saud’s vision for the emirate, Ras Al Khaimah government has adopted a pioneering institutional approach; Its positive fruits are tangible in all aspects of government work in the emirate, hence, ensuring the utmost levels of efficiency, quality and transparency, and ease of doing business.

In recognition of H.H. Sheikh Saud’s remarkable role in achieving real progress in sustainable development and enhancing the status of the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton in the United Kingdom in 2010, and an honorary fellowship from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in India in 2013. In 2018, H.H. Sheikh Saud received an honorary doctorate from Incheon National University in South Korea, and the Visionary Leader Award presented by “Arabian Business”.

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