Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi is the current Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.
Sheikh Saud was born in Dubai on 10 February 1956. Sheikh Saud is the fourth son of Sheikh 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, Sheikh Saud transferred to the University of Michigan, where he received a bachelor's degree in economics and political science.
On his return to Ras Al Khaimah in 1979, Sheikh Saud was appointed Chief of the Ruler's Court to assist his father, Sheikh Saqr, in the administration of the sheikhdom. Sheikh Saud became Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah when his father, Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, unexpectedly dismissed his elder half-brother, Sheikh 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 Sheikh Saud by sending armored vehicles to Ras Al Khaimah. On 27 October 2010, upon the death of his father Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, who ruled Ras Al Khaimah for 62 years, Sheikh Saud officially became the Ruler, according to a statement from the seven-member federation of the United Arab Emirates.
In 1986, Sheikh Saud became the Chairman of the Ras Al Khaimah Municipal Council. In 1989, he recruited the Swiss-Lebanese engineer Khater Massaad, who helped Sheikh Saud develop comprehensive industrialization plans for Ras Al Khaimah, the most important being the establishment of RAK Ceramics. The company formed when Sheikh 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, Sheikh 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.
Sheikh Saud has implemented vast organizational and economic reforms that have transformed RAK into an attractive destination for foreign investment – culminating in a A/A-1 rating over several years by Standard & Poor's and Fitch.
Drawing from the experience of his private sector successes, such as the rejuvenation of Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries (Julphar) and the creation of the world's largest ceramics manufacturer, RAK Ceramics, Sheikh Saud's economic insight and business savvy have helped bring about unprecedented development and growth across the emirate. Soon after Sheikh Saud's accession as Crown Prince, RAK Government asked the World Bank to conduct a study on the foreign investment avenues available to the emirate and has 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.
In addition to running a sound government, Sheikh Saud has also been deeply concerned with the social development of the Emirate, focusing special attention on improving education and healthcare. He created the Sheikh Saqr Overseas Scholarship Program to encourage and enable local men and women to pursue higher education at first class international universities.
In 2007, Sheikh Saud opened the doors of RAK Hospital, a joint Swiss-UAE venture and the first full service private hospital in the emirate.
Sheikh Khalid had claimed that Sheikh Saud and Ras Al Khaimah had connections to Iran. However, these accusations stem either directly from the former crown prince of RAK or indirectly from research he funded with a vested interest in embarrassing or undermining the regime in the hope of returning to power.
Khalid's US communications team[who?] insisted these claims were "well sourced", but they were rejected by the UAE embassies in London and the US. The UAE also denied the Sheikh's claim that RAK had links to Iran's nuclear program and that a port in RAK had, in effect, become an Iranian base, allowing Tehran to avoid international sanctions. Instead, the Embassy described the claims as attacks that were "baseless and without foundation and should be seen in the context of his long-standing dispute with his family."
"These appear to be old, scurrilous rumors which Sheikh Khalid has made on numerous occasions," a spokesman for the UAE said in a statement. "His claims are baseless and without foundation and should be seen in the context of his long-standing dispute with his family. We are surprised that these old allegations are now being rehashed once again."
The Islah Movement (Al Islah), a reformist political current with ideological though not organizational links to the Muslim Brotherhood, historically had strong support in Ras Al Khaimah but its influence and reach has diminished since it was disbanded in 1994. One of its leaders was the human rights activist and lawyer Muhammad Al-Mansuri (Mohammed Al-Mansoori). He was a legal adviser to Sheikh Saud but was dismissed in December 2009. Later, he was among the so-called UAE 94, a group of reformists tried in the UAE. Al-Mansoori was among 69 people sentenced on 2 July 2013 by the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi (25 were acquitted) and received a jail term of ten years for "belonging to an illegal, secret organization ... that aims to counter the foundations of this state in order to seize power and of contacting foreign entities and groups to implement this plan."
Saud's four sons serve in the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces National Service, two of them, Mohammed and Ahmed, were deployed to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen. Ahmed was injured and was transferred to the United States for treatment.
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