Sheikh Mansour

Lore & Background

Mansour 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, he holds stakes in a variety of football clubs through City Football Group, including Premier League club Manchester City F.C. Mansour controls several key Emirati institutions, such as the UAE Central Bank, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), and the Abu Dhabi criminal authority.

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). Mansour has played a key role in various UAE foreign policy endeavors. He was involved in efforts to bolster Khalifa Haftar in the Libyan Civil War, build an alliance with Sudanese ruler and war criminal Omar al-Bashir, and secretly provide arms transfers to Sudanese General Mohamed Hamdan whose forces have engaged in massacres, mass rapes and genocide.

Mansour is the owner of the Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), an investment company for the Abu Dhabi royal family, that acquired Manchester City in September 2008. The football club has overseen a significant transformation since the takeover, having won eight top-flight league titles, including its first in 44 years and first Premier League title in 2012 and the Champions League title in 2023. Mansour owns multiple other sports clubs, including New York City FC in Major League Soccer.

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

Reader's Guide

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 2006, he was named the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department. In 2007, he was appointed chairman of Khalifa bin Zayed Charity Foundation. 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). On 11 May 2009, he was appointed deputy prime minister, retaining his cabinet post of minister of presidential affairs.

Did You Know?

• Mansour has only been to two Manchester City games as owner: in 2010 and the 2023 UEFA Champions League final.
• Mansour holds a 32% stake in Virgin Galactic after investing $280 million in 2009.