Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (منصور بن زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان; born 20 November 1970), often referred to as Sheikh Mansour, is an Emirati royal and politician who is the current vice president and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, as well as the minister of presidential court and member of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi.

He is the brother of the current president of the UAE, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and is married to Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed Al Maktoum, daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.

A billionaire, through City Football Group he holds stakes in a variety of football clubs, including Manchester City FC.

Mansour is involved in various state-owned businesses in the UAE.

He is chairman of the two UAE sovereign wealth funds (Emirates Investment Authority, Mubadala Investment Company) and a board member of a third (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority).

He is chairman of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

Mansour was born in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi on 21 November 1970, the fifth son of the Emir of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

His mother is Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi and he has five full-brothers: Mohammed, Hamdan, Hazza, Tahnoun, and Abdullah.

They are known as Bani Fatima or sons of Fatima.

Mansour attended Santa Barbara Community College as an English student in 1989.

He is a graduate of the United Arab Emirates University where he received a bachelor's degree in international affairs in 1993.

In 1997, Sheikh Mansour was appointed chairman of the presidential office, at which time his father Sheikh Zayed was the president of the UAE.

After the death of his father, he was appointed by his eldest half-brother, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, as the first minister of presidential affairs of the United Arab Emirates, following a merger of the presidential office and presidential court.

He also served in a number of positions in Abu Dhabi to support his brother, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was still the Crown Prince at the time.

He was appointed chairman of the ministerial council for services (now Ministerial Development Council).

Since 2000 he chaired National Center for Documentation and Research.

In the 2004 reshuffle, he became minister for presidential affairs.

In 2005, he became the deputy chairman of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), chairman of the Emirates Foundation, Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, and Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

In 2005, he was appointed as a member of the Supreme Petroleum Council.

In the same year, he chaired the board of directors of IPIC and became a board member of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

In 2006, he was named the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department.

Mansour served as the chairman of First Gulf Bank until 2006, and as a member of the board of trustees of the Zayed charitable and humanitarian foundation.

Mansour has established scholarship programs for UAE students to study abroad.

He is also chairman of the Emirates horse racing authority (EHRA).

In 2007, he was appointed chairman of Khalifa bin Zayed Charity Foundation.

In 2007, he was appointed chairman of the Emirates Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of UAE.

Mansour is the owner of the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), an investment company for the Abu Dhabi royal family, that acquired Manchester City Football Club in September 2008.

The club, which is operated by Khaldoon Al Mubarak and the City Football Group, has overseen a significant transformation since the takeover.

On 11 May 2009, he was appointed deputy prime minister, retaining his cabinet post of minister of presidential affairs.

On 29 March 2023, with the approval of the UAE Federal Supreme Council, the UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a resolution, appointing Mansour as the country's second vice president, to serve alongside Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.

In October 2022, whilst Mansour’s tenure as deputy prime minister, he was accused of helping Roman Abramovich and other wealthy Russian oligarchs evade sanctions during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

He was described as being “central” to the flow of sanctioned Russian assets to the UAE.

Mansour is the chairman of the Emirati state-owned Mubadala Investment Company.

He was formerly chairman of IPIC.

Mansour has a 32% stake in Virgin Galactic after investing $280 million in the project through Aabar in July 2009.

The club has won seven top-flight league titles, winning its first title in 44 years and its first Premier League title in 2012.

Mansour owns multiple other sports clubs, including New York City FC in Major League Soccer.

Human rights groups and other critics have characterized Sheikh Mansour's sports investments as sportswashing to improve the image of the UAE amid its controversial human rights record.

After the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal was highlighted and Khadem al-Qubaisi, who was managing IPIC, was arrested in 2016, IPIC was folded into Aabar Investments.

Qubaisi blamed Mansour and the UAE authorities for using him as a scapegoat in the affair.