Chairman

Museum of the future - Dubai
His Excellency Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi

Minister of Sports, Chairman of the UAE
Space Agency

About the Chairman

His Excellency Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi was appointed UAE Minister of Sports in July 2024. He oversees the process of devising development strategies and plans for the country’s sports sector, aiming to boost its global competitiveness, nurture national talents and build a healthy society that adopts sports as a way of life.

His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UAE Space Agency. He oversees the Agency’s mandate of guiding the space sector, ensuring its contribution to the national economy. Additionally, His Excellency is Chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, the UAE’s largest applied higher educational institution, and the nation’s first approved university economic free zone. This enables the institution to produce graduates and entrepreneurs who possess exceptional levels of competence and competitiveness.

Since 2020, His Excellency has been the Deputy Chairman of the Emirates Development Bank, which is a key enabler of the UAE's economic transformation and provides financial support to businesses in key strategic sectors.

His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi was the UAE Minister of Education from 2022 to 2024. During his tenure, he oversaw the design and development of the national educational and pedagogical system, managing efforts to improve its efficiency and enhance the quality of outcomes to meet the country's future development, economic and social needs.

In 2021, His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi served as the Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs. He strengthened the role of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector as a key driver of the national economy, boosting the national entrepreneurship model across various economic sectors in line with the best international practices. From 2016 until 2020, His Excellency served as the Minister of State for Higher Education. During his tenure, he supervised the development of higher education and scientific research in the UAE, formulated new policies for the sector and streamlined the operations of higher education institutions to ensure high-calibre outputs that meet the needs of the labour market. In October 2017, under the ministerial amendment to the UAE Government, Dr. Al Falasi took on the responsibility of equipping UAE nationals with future-orientated skills.

In parallel with his ministerial positions, His Excellency has also been the Chairman of the General Authority of Sports, responsible for setting plans, programmes, systems, and regulations to ensure the organisation and development of the sports sector in the country. Through his position, His Excellency has contributed to implementing numerous strategic initiatives such as the National Sports Strategy 2031 and the launch of the Emirates Committee for Elite and High-Level Sports. The committee is one of the most significant initiatives resulting from the strategy, aiming to increase the likelihood that talented Emirati athletes will represent the UAE at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In June 2021, His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi was also appointed First Deputy President of the UAE National Olympic Committee, with the aim of improving the technical and administrative skills of the Olympic teams and enhancing the UAE's standing in regional and international sporting events.

From 2017 to 2020, His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi chaired the Board of Directors of the UAE Space Agency. During his tenure, the country witnessed the launch of the UAE Astronaut Programme, the first of its kind in the Arab region. As part of the programme, the first Emirati went on a space mission on September 25, 2019. Additionally, KhalifaSat was launched as the first Arabic satellite to be 100 percent developed by Emirati engineers. The launch of the satellite was a historic achievement that contributed to cementing the UAE’s global position in the space science sector. Furthermore, the "Probe of Hope" to Mars, lifted off on July 20, 2020, and reached the Red Planet in 2021.

Moreover, His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi is the former Chairman of the Federal Authority for Human Resources (2017 – 2020). He is also the former Chairman of the UAE Tourism Council. Prior to pursuing a career in the federal government, Dr. Al Falasi was the CEO of Masdar Company, the Executive Director of Strategy and Tourism Sector Development at Dubai Tourism, the Vice President of the Mubadala Industry Unit, as well as a consultant for the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. He started his career as an Assistant Professor at Khalifa University.

His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi holds a PhD from Monash University, a master’s degree from the University of Melbourne in Australia, and a bachelor’s degree in communication engineering from Khalifa University in the UAE.


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