Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Arabic: حمدان بن راشد أل مكتوم, Hamdān bin Rāschid Āl Maktūm; born 25 December 1945) is the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the Minister of Finance and Industry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He is the second son of the late ruler, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum (1912–1990).
Sheikh Hamdan received his early education in the Emirates then attended Bell School of Languages, Cambridge. He and his brother, Sheikh Mohammed, control the state-owned Dubai Ports World along with the Dubai Holding Co. and its many subsidiary companies which have wide-ranging investments in hotels, apartment buildings, banking and finance, and healthcare facilities. Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum has been the head of the UAE's delegation at the International Monetary Fund and the OPEC Fund.
Sheikh Hamdan was born on 25 December 1945. He was the second of four sons of the late ruler of Dubai, Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum.
Sheikh Hamdan's formal schooling began in Dubai. He attended Al Madrasah Al-Ahlia, where he studied mathematics, English, basic sciences, Arabic and Islamic studies. He went on to complete his further studies at the Bell School of Languages in Cambridge between 1967 and 1968. In Britain, Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum developed an interest in thoroughbred racing.
The years saw a great deal of development in the UAE. While Dubai and Abu Dhabi had begun the process of modernisation, it was far from complete; many areas in the remaining five emirates needed electricity, roads, housing, and clean water supplies. As Minister of Finance and Industry, Sheikh Hamdan oversaw such work, while he was also charged with developing the economy and an industrial base. The UAE's rulers understood that the country could not afford to isolate its efforts in the petroleum sector, despite the fact that in 1971 the majority of federal government revenues were derived from this source.
In Dubai, Sheikh Rashid also placed his second son in charge of an array of key governmental industrial enterprises, including the Dubai Aluminium Company, Dubai Gas Company and Dubai Cable Company, among others.