Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is the prime minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai, tweeted the happy news to his over five million followers. The announcement followed weeks of speculation over the talked about government shakeup.
The prime minister, in attempting to cement the UAE’s position as the Arab world’s most up-and-coming nation, said he wanted a council of youth, with its own minister, and regardless of the minister being a man or a woman, to be no older than 25. The new ministries will help the government to focus on youth, innovation, health and public satisfaction, reports the Telegraph.
To that end, “a post of Minister of State for Tolerance has been created to promote tolerance as a fundamental value in the UAE, and a post of minister of State for Happiness was created to align and drive government policy to create social good and satisfaction,” tweeted HH Sheikh Muhammed.
The minister of the Council on Youth has been confirmed, according to the Telegraph, and is an as yet unnamed young woman of 22, said to be appointed to the position. HH Sheikh Mohammed, who prefers Twitter announcements to get his message out, also announced a series of ministry mergers, cutting and combining some positions to make the cabinet more efficient. Many ministry tasks have been turned over to the private sector.
While some people may look on the idea of appointing ministers of happiness and intolerance, it really is sensible today. As Sheikh Mohammed said at the World Government Summit in Dubai on Monday, “Governments must be flexible. We don’t need more ministries, but more ministers capable of dealing with change,” he said. “We want a young and flexible government that will fulfil our youth’s aspirations and achieve our people’s ambitions.”
According to the 2015 World Happiness Report, the UAE ranks 20th in the amount of happiness its citizens have, compared to Switzerland, Iceland and Denmark, who round out the top three positions. Countries ranking high on the happiness scale define happiness as feeling “cosiness,” or experiencing “togetherness or a sense of “well-being.” By the way, the UK came in at position 21, below the UAE, while Canada came in at Number 5.
For the UAE, embracing its youth is an important element in strengthening the government. Tolerance is also needed in a country where the vast majority of residents are expatriates, many of them Christian, Shia Muslim and other religions, even though the official religion is Sunni Muslim.
