His Excellency Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi

Secretary General

In 2006, His Excellency Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi was appointed Minister of Cabinet Affairs of the UAE Government, in addition to his capacity as Deputy Chairman of the Ministerial Development Council (MDC).

His duties include overseeing the development and implementation of the federal government strategy, aligning efforts to achieve the objectives of the UAE National Agenda and ensuring the highest level of government performance and efficiency across all sectors.

Between February 2016 and July 2020, Future Foresight was added to Al Gergawi’s ministerial portfolio, where he was mandated to develop the UAE’s Future Foresight Strategy aiming to promote government readiness for the future.

In addition to his ministerial duties, His Excellency holds several leading positions, including: Chairman of the Executive Office of Dubai; Chairman of the World Governments Summit (WGS); Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF); Secretary General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI); Chairman of the Museum of the Future and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Great Arab Minds.

As the Secretary-General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi oversees several humanitarians, developmental, and strategic projects aimed at fostering sustainable development and enhancing the quality of life for communities in need, benefiting nearly 100 million people annually across more than 105 countries worldwide. These efforts focus on humanitarian aid and relief, knowledge and education, healthcare improvement and disease prevention, innovation and leadership promotion, and community empowerment. This is achieved through various distinctive projects, initiatives, and campaigns, including the One Billion Meals Campaign, the Arab Reading Challenge, Arab Hope Makers, UAE Water Aid, UAE Food Bank, Noor Dubai, Dubai Cares, the Digital School, and more.

To enhance the positive impact of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives both regionally and internationally, His Excellency has supervised a range of international partnerships and agreements. These include an agreement with the World Health Organization to improve healthcare in developing countries, a partnership with the United Nations Development Programme to support education and sustainable development programs, agreements with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to improve education and healthcare for children in remote areas, collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and cooperation with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to provide vaccines and medicines to needy communities, as well as with Microsoft to provide digital education and develop technical skills for youth in developing countries.

In terms of his efforts in developing administrative work in the region, His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi supervises the Great Arab Minds initiative to highlight and honor geniuses in several vital fields, and the Arab Strategy Forum, which brings together thought leaders and decision-makers from around the world to discuss strategic issues and global challenges. Additionally, he oversees the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development, which aims to prepare a select group of future leaders equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to face future challenges.

At the international level, Al Gergawi is a member of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Leadership Council, supervising the long-term strategy of the Forum and its various platforms. He also Co-Chairs the Global Future Councils launched in collaboration between the UAE government and the WEF. In 2018, Al Gergawi was chosen to be a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation, aiming to lay the foundations for enabling governments address the challenges of the rapid technological advancements.

Al Gergawi was tasked with establishing excellence programs to enhance the efficiency of both the public and private sectors. He oversaw the creation of the Dubai Quality Award in 1994, the Dubai Government Excellence Program in 1997, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Government Excellence Award in 2009 at the federal level. Additionally, he heads the Board of Trustees of the Arab Government Excellence Award (AGEAward), which was launched in collaboration with the Arab Administrative Development Organization of the Arab League.

In the business sector, Al Gergawi founded Dubai Holding and chaired its board until 2017. By then, the company’s assets had reached a value of AED 130 billion, distributed across 13 countries and encompassing strategic economic sectors such as technology, advanced sciences, telecommunications, healthcare, media, tourism, real estate, education, and more. Additionally, he worked on establishing specialized commercial zones including Dubai International Financial Centre; Dubai Internet City; Dubai Media City; Dubai Production City; Dubai Studio City; Dubai Healthcare City; Dubai Humanitarian City; and Dubai Design District; Dubai Academic City; Dubai Industrial City; Dubai Knowledge Park; Dubai Outsource City and Dubai Science Park among others. He also served as Chairman of the Board for the Dubai Investment and Development Authority.

Over the past years, he has held prominent positions in various sectors, including Secretary General of the Executive Council of Dubai (TEC), Chairman of the Emirates Competitiveness Council (ECC), Vice Chairman of the Emirates Investment Authority (EIA), Founding Chairman of the Young Arab Leaders (YAL), Managing Director of Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI).

In the academic field, Al Gergawi has served as a member of a number of national and international higher education institutions, including the Board of Trustees of the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU); the Board of Trustees of Abu Dhabi University (ADU), and the Supreme Council of the UAE National Defence College (NDC). He was the Founding President of the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government (MBRSG), and served as a member of the International Advisory Board of the American University of Beirut (AUB).

In the social field, Al Gergawi has supervised a number of social initiatives such as establishing the Dubai Autism Center (DAC) and the UAE Disabled Sports Federation. In addition, he represented his country as a member of the UAE national volleyball team in international competitions.

Al Gergawi has received numerous honours, awards, and academic recognitions. Among the most notable are an honorary doctorate in government administration from Georgetown University in the United States, an honorary doctorate in government administration and future strategies from ESCP Business School in Paris, an Honorary Fellowship of the London Business School (LBS). The Global Honorary Fellowship from the American University in Cairo (AUC). In addition to the Order of Friendship bestowed by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev; the Moroccan Royal Order of Merit from His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and the American Business Award. In 2017.

Al Gergawi was named the Federal Personality of the Year by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.

Al Gergawi holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States of America.