Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum

Both his predecessor and successor as Prime Minister of the UAE was his son, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid was the prime minister of United Arab Emirates from 1971 to 1979, and acceded as ruler of Dubai on his father's death on 7 October 1990, until his death on 4 January 2006. Following Maktoum's death in 2006, another of Sheikh Rashid's sons, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, acceded to these positions and is the current vice president and prime minister of the UAE and the ruler of Dubai.

Jebel Ali port was established in 1979, and the customs free zone Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) was built around the port in 1985. By the late 1990s, JAFZ developed into a commercial free zone.

Despite the rather fraught relationship between the two emirates, Sheikh Rashid brought Dubai to join Abu Dhabi and other northern emirates to create the United Arab Emirates in 1971. In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency, the UAE dirham.

Sheikh Rashid also established close relations with Kuwait and other royal families of the region. The Emir of Kuwait assisted in the financing of the dredging of Dubai creek. Dubai also raised funds for the dredging by issuing bonds, known as the 'creek bonds,' which proved popular with investors. Revenue derived from land reclamation made possible by the dredging proved crucial for funding Dubai's future growth. The dredging and land reclamation project, regarded at first as a folly, resulted in Dubai's rising prominence as an entrepôt, a position cemented by the visionary construction of a 15-berth deep-water port, Port Rashid, starting in 1969.

A quote commonly attributed to Sheikh Rashid reflected his concern that Dubai's oil, which was discovered in 1966 and which began production in 1969, would run out within a few generations.

Instead, Sheikh Rashid established a close relationship with Qatar, who was a rival of Abu Dhabi on the other (western) border. Sheikh Rashid's daughter married the new emir of Qatar in 1961 and a warm relationship was established. Thus, when India devalued the Rupee in 1966, both Qatar and Dubai adopted the Gulf rupee as a common currency, whereas Abu Dhabi adopted the Bahraini dinar.

There had been an armed border dispute between Dubai and Abu Dhabi in 1946, and when Sheikh Rashid became ruler of Dubai, there was still a state of stand-off between the two emirates. Sheikh Rashid's accession did not serve to improve the situation because of a delicate family relationship. The ruling emir of Abu Dhabi, Shakhbut, was a first cousin of Sheikh Rashid's only wife, Latifah. Their fathers had been brothers. However, Shakhbut's father had killed Latifah's father and seized the throne of Abu Dhabi in 1922, causing Latifah's family to flee to Dubai where, many years later, the two families arranged for Sheikh Rashid to marry the refugee princess. Given this history, there was little love lost between the cousins and relations between the two emirates did not improve until much later.

Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum (Arabic: ٱلـشَّـيْـخ رَاشِـد بِـن سَـعِـيْـد آل مَـكْـتُـوْم, romanized: Ash-Shaykh Rāshid bin Sa`īd Āl Maktūm; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was the vice president and second prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai. He ruled Dubai for 32 years from 1958 until his death in 1990.

Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum married only once. His wife, Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan, is the daughter of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who had ruled Abu Dhabi for 10 years (1912-22). After her father was murdered by family members, Sheikha Latifa (along with other family members) had fled Abu Dhabi and taken refuge in Dubai. Many years later, the penniless refugee lady was married to Rashid in a match arranged by their families. Rashid and Latifa were blessed with nine children, being four sons and five daughters: