H.E. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi

H.E. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi was appointed United Arab Emirates minister of sports in July 2024. He oversees the process of devising development strategies and plans for the country’s sports sector, aiming to boost its global competitiveness, nurture national talents, and build a healthy society that adopts sports as a way of life. 

Al Falasi is also the chairman of the board of directors of the UAE Space Agency. He oversees the agency’s mandate of guiding the space sector and ensuring its contribution to the national economy. Additionally, he is chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, the UAE’s largest applied higher educational institution and the nation’s first approved university economic free zone. This enables the institution to produce graduates and entrepreneurs who possess exceptional levels of competence and competitiveness. 

Since 2020, Al Falasi has been the deputy chairman of Emirates Development Bank, which is a key enabler of the UAE’s economic transformation and provides financial support to businesses in key strategic sectors. 

Al Falasi was the UAE minister of education from 2022-24. During his tenure, he oversaw the design and development of the national educational and pedagogical system, managing efforts to improve its efficiency and enhance the quality of outcomes to meet the country’s future development, economic, and social needs. 

In 2021, Al Falasi served as the minister of state for entrepreneurship and small and medium enterprises. He strengthened the role of the small and medium enterprise sector as a key driver of the national economy, boosting the national entrepreneurship model across various economic sectors in line with the best international practices. From 2016-20, he served as minister of state for higher education. During his tenure, he supervised the development of higher education and scientific research in the UAE, formulated new policies for the sector, and streamlined the operations of higher education institutions to ensure high caliber outputs that met the needs of the labor market. In October 2017, under the ministerial amendment to the UAE government, Al Falasi took on the responsibility of equipping UAE citizens with future-orientated skills. 

In parallel with his ministerial positions, he has also been the chairman of the General Authority of Sports, responsible for setting plans, programs, systems, and regulations to ensure the organization and development of the sports sector in the country. Through his position, Al Falasi has contributed to implementing numerous strategic initiatives, such as the National Sports Strategy 2031 and the launch of the Emirates Committee for Elite and High-Level Sports. The committee was one of the most significant initiatives resulting from the strategy, aiming to increase the likelihood that talented Emirati athletes would represent the UAE at the Paris 2024 Olympics. In June 2021, Al Falasi was also appointed first deputy president of the UAE National Olympic Committee, with the aim of improving the technical and administrative skills of the Olympic teams and enhancing the UAE’s standing in regional and international sporting events. 

From 2017-20, Al Falasi chaired the board of directors of the UAE Space Agency. During his tenure, the country witnessed the launch of the UAE Astronaut Programme, the first of its kind in the Arab region. As part of the program, the first Emirati went on a space mission September 25, 2019. Additionally, KhalifaSat, the first Arabic satellite to be 100% developed by Emirati engineers, was launched. The launch of the satellite was a historic achievement that contributed to cementing the UAE’s global position in the space science sector. Furthermore, the “Hope Probe” to Mars lifted off July 20, 2020 and reached the planet in 2021. 

Al Falasi was the chairman of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources from 2017-20. He also served as the chairman of the Emirates Tourism Council. Prior to pursuing a career in the federal government, Al Falasi was CEO of Masdar, executive director of strategy and tourism sector development at Dubai Tourism, vice president of Mubadala, and a consultant for the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. He started his career as an assistant professor at Khalifa University.