Sheikha Lubna's challenge

Shortly before the passing of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding president of the UAE, the Abu Dhabi government named Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi to the post of minister of economy and planning.

The first female government minister in the country's history long ago broke through the glass ceiling as CEO of Tejari.com, a rapidly expanding regional e-commerce exchange headquartered in Dubai.

A popular speaker on women's issue, Islam and Internet commerce, Sheikha Lubna has spent the past few years growing her business while simultaneously building bridges between East and West.

Now, as minister of economy and planning, her words will carry that much more weight - and she will serve as an emblem of regional political and economic reform. Sheikha Lubna was the right choice at the right time.

The November cabinet reshuffle was the first in seven years, and it's worth looking closely at the changes. Consider, first, that Sheikha Lubna replaces Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, the former economy minister who takes over the newly created portfolio for Gulf Cooperation Council affairs as well as those for the country's supreme council.

This represents a merging of the ministries of state for supreme council and GCC affairs; at the same time, Sheikha Lubna now heads the previously separate planning, economy and commerce ministries.

Family ties

Sheikh Fahim and Sheikha Lubna are cousins, although from different branches of the Al Qasimi family. Sheikh Fahim hails from Ras Al Khaimah, the most northerly emirate, which is ruled by Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi.

Sheikha Lubna is a member of the Sharjah branch of the family; Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi rules this emirate, which shares its southern border with Dubai.

Sheikha Lubna may have been born in Sharjah, but she is a protégée of Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, crown prince of Dubai and the country's defense minister. Sheikh Mohamed was instrumental in Sheikha Lubna's rise: first at the Dubai Ports Authority, then at Tejari and, almost surely, within the federal government.

Her nomination to minister of economy and planning, then, can be interpreted as a win for Sheikh Mohamed and his expansive, tech- and tourism-driven vision for economic expansion.

Does this mean that more conservative Abu Dhabi will suddenly embrace's Dubai vision for economic growth? Almost certainly not. And therein lies the challenge for Sheikha Lubna.
The new UAE economy and planning minister holds a bachelors of science degree from California State University as well as an MBA from the American University of Sharjah.

Warm, witty and at ease with Western business practices, Sheikha Lubna's management style is hands-on and down to earth. 'The people you like have to like you and respect your values,' she recently told Arabies TRENDS, 'if they are to look up to you as a role model.'

Delivering results

When she arrived at Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) as senior manager of the information systems department - a post she held for seven years before leaving for Tejari - Sheikha Lubna says that making transition from tech engineer to business manager was not always easy.

'I came from a technology background; I was a techy, running a department of 100 technical people. But I learned that I had to be running and developing software that increased productivity for the port,' Sheikh Lubna told Arabies TRENDS.

'DPA is a global competitor in the international logistics and transport business. So I learned that the department was not just delivering software; it had to deliver results for the business.'

Delivering results is something that Sheikha Lubna has proved - at both DPA and Tejari - that she can do. The challenge now is to work on a larger scale and within a vastly different framework. As the first female government minister in the history of the UAE, Sheikha Lubna will serve as an emblem of reform to the region and the world.

But the most compelling reason for Sheikha Lubna's nomination had nothing to do with her gender; she was named to the position because she has proved capable of making an impact and serving as an agent of change in both the public and private sector.

Sheikha Lubna now has the opportunity to display those skills at the very highest levels, where the stakes are enormous and the margin for error nearly nonexistent.