| الحكومة الاتحادية لدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Formation | 2 December 1971; 53 years ago (2 December 1971) |
|---|---|
| Founding document | United Arab Emirates Constitution |
| Jurisdiction | United Arab Emirates |
| Website | u |
| Legislative branch | |
| Legislature | Federal Supreme Council |
| Meeting place | Abu Dhabi |
| Executive branch | |
| Leader | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | President of the United Arab Emirates |
| Headquarters | Qasr Al Watan |
| Main organ | Cabinet |
| Judicial branch | |
| Court | Federal Supreme Court of the United Arab Emirates |
| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of the United Arab Emirates |
|---|
|
Related topics |
 United Arab Emirates portal |
TheUnited Arab Emirates Federal Government (Arabic:حكومة دولة الامارات الاتحادية), or simplyUAE government (Arabic:حكومة دولة الامارات), is thenational government of theUnited Arab Emirates, aunitary federation of seven self-governingemirates. The federal government is divided into a legislative, executive, and judicial branch. The executive branch – namely, thecabinet led by theprime minister – and the judicial branch both report to thepresident. TheFederal Supreme Council is the highest legislative body and is responsible for appointing the president.[1][2]
Article 120 of theUAE Constitution grants the federal government its mandate, and outlines its jurisdictions and balance of power with local governments.[3]
The UAE federal government was formed on 2 December 1971, when the rulers of five emirates, formerly part of theTrucial States established theUnited Arab Emirates. TheConstitution established the federal government and outlined its mandates and jurisdictions inArticle 120 andArticle 121. As part of the balance of powers between the Emirates, federal ministries were allocated based on representation, with theEmirate of Dubai maintaining Defence, Finance and Economy and theEmirate of Abu Dhabi retaining six cabinet posts, including Ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs. Although not required in the Constitution, by convention, theruler of Abu Dhabi has always assumed the position ofpresident and theruler of Dubai always held the position ofprime minister, except for the period between 1971 and 1979, when the crown prince of Dubai at the time,Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, held the position while his father was the ruler of Dubai and vice president.[4]
TheConstitution defines theFederal Supreme Council as the main legislative arm of the federal government alongside the consultativeFederal National Council.[5]
The Federal Supreme Council is one of the five federal bodies described in the Constitution, and the highest constitutional authority of the federal government. The Council appoints thepresident, confirms the appointment of theprime minister, and approves or rejects federal laws. Membership of the Council consists of the rulers of each of theemirates, with theEmirate of Abu Dhabi and theEmirate of Dubai holding exclusive veto rights.[6]
The Federal National Council (the FNC) is one of the five federal bodies of the UAE, and is the consultative parliamentary organ of the federal government. The 40-member council consists of 20 members appointed by the rulers of each emirate, and the other 20 are voted by a selected electoral college. The FNC has authority to question federal ministers, review the federal budget, and provide suggestions to government bodies.[7][2]
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The executive branch of the federal government consists of thepresident,vice president, and the Cabinet.
The president holds wide-ranging powers including the authority to issue decrees for federal laws, consult with the prime minister on the appointment of federal ministers or heads of federal authorities and acts as supreme commander of theUnited Arab Emirates Armed Forces. The president nominates the prime minister and judges for theFederal Supreme Court; as head of theFederal Supreme Council, the president can call meetings and set policy agendas in addition to exclusive authority over foreign affairs.[8]
The prime minister is thehead of government and leadsthe Cabinet. The Cabinet interprets federal law and issues resolutions to federal ministries and agencies on how to enforce the laws. The federal government has 52 federal ministries and bodies under its supervision, who have varying jurisdiction based on agreements with local governments; federal bodies such asEmirates Post, and theTelecommunications Regulatory Authority have national jurisdiction.[9]
TheConstitution allows each emirate major autonomy on various aspects of local governance, and the right to request the federal government to manage some of those areas of autonomy.[10] Each emirate interprets federal law independently and has the right to issue its own guidelines and laws, and thus laws and procedures can differ greatly between various local governments. Each local government has its own ruler, and executive council which manages the day-to-day affairs of the emirate.[4]
Jurisdiction and scope of local governments vary widely between emirates, with the emirates ofDubai andAbu Dhabi maintaining independent energy, education, judicial, and religious affairs departments, while others, such as theEmirate of Ajman maintaining only municipal and economic policy affairs, with other aspects such asenergy andwater management,religious affairs, andhealth delegated to the federal government.[11]
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