Mohammad Al Gaz

Al Gaz was born in Al Dhagaya, Deira in 1920 to a modest family. His father, Abdulla Mohamed AlFalasi, passed away unexpectedly when Al Gaz had barely reached adolescence. Despite this, his mother enrolled him in the illustrious Al Ahmadiya School to study under notable theologians such as Sheikh Mohamed Nour AlMuhairi.{{Cite web |last=البيان |first=دبي ـ |date=2021-10-16 |title=محمد القاز... عاشق عطاء تجاوز إحسانه المكان والزمان |url=https://www.albayan.ae/uae/news/2021-10-17-1.4272961 |access-date=2024-01-28 |website=www.albayan.ae |language=ar}}

During World War II, Dubai was struck with a famine that caused many families to seek refuge in neighboring areas. Escaping this, Al Gaz settled temporarily in Bahrain with his family while finding employment in Dammam as a carpenter. Al Gaz used his earnings as a carpenter to start a commodity trading operation as the war neared an end. Specifically, he would export various goods such as dried lemons, textiles, and other general goods, from Bahrain and Kuwait to Dubai.

Emerging as an enterprising trader in textiles and commodities between markets in the Middle East, Al Gaz entered the historic Switzerland-Dubai-India gold trade in the 1950s after recruiting and partnering with his then-grocer and friend, Juma Al Majid. This partnership would establish the famous Mohamed & Juma Al Majid company, which owned significant exclusive distributor rights over critical consumer appliances and electronics and automobiles.Christopher M. Davidson, "Arab Nationalism and British Opposition in Dubai, 1920-66," Middle Eastern Studies 2007 43(6): 879-892

File:SheikhMohammadGhurairTajerAlGaz.jpg

Al Gaz rose to political power as a trusted advisor of Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al Maktoum, who himself acceded the throne of Dubai in 1958. During this time, the Dubai Municipal Council (now Dubai Municipality) became the primary political vehicle in command of Dubai's institutional reforms. Al Gaz himself was nominated into the Dubai municipal council on July 7th, 1958, alongside other Dubai notables at the time including: Omar bin Haider, Ahmed AlShaibana, and Majid AlFuttaim.Government Of Dubai. . Dubai, 1958. Periodical. https://www.loc.gov/item/76646762_no5_1958_aug/ .{{Cite journal |date=1958 |title=Dubai Municipality |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/llscd.76646762_no4_1958_jul/?sp=11&st=pdf&pdfPage=undefined&r=-0.199%2C-0.07%2C1.399%2C1.399%2C0 |journal=The Official Publication of Dubai Government |issue=4 |pages=9–10}} During his term as member of the council, Al Gaz was elected to the budget and treasury committee tasked with producing the annual budget for the Dubai government, as well as reviewing the balance sheets of all government related entities.

Mohammad Al Gaz became a diplomatic adviser to Sheikh Rashid. He was used as an initial diplomatic channel between Dubai and Abu Dhabi during a time when protracted zero-sum land negotiations were at the centre of the diplomatic relationship; Al Gaz helped to reconcile the two sides.{{cite book|title=Records of Dubai 1761-1960|editor=A. Burdett|year=2000}}{{cite web|url=http://www.fodors.com/world/africa-and-middle-east/united-arab-emirates/dubai/feature_30001.html|title=The Making of Dubai|publisher=Fodor's|accessdate=2009-05-31|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417083605/http://www.fodors.com/world/africa-and-middle-east/united-arab-emirates/dubai/feature_30001.html|archivedate=2009-04-17}}

File:Mohammed Al Gaz with Gamal Abdel Nasser.jpg (middle) visiting Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1959.]]

The Indian gold trade fell out of vogue with the partnerships in the early 1970s. Al Gaz and his partner Al Majid started to direct their investments into projects that brought know-how or infrastructure to Dubai, which was behind its far more developed rivals in Kuwait and Bahrain. Al Gaz and Al Majid invested heavily in securing franchise rights and developing real estate projects; they secured distribution or exclusive franchise rights to international brands in Dubai, including General Electric, Samsung, Phillips, Opel, Pepsi, Nissan, Hyundai, and Kia.

After 11 years of partnership, they split their assets on a mutually agreed basis; reflecting in later years, Al Majid was noted theirs was the only Dubai trading empire of the age to split amicably,{{cite web|url=http://gulfnews.com/business/sectors/features/juma-al-majid-a-life-in-service-1.717158|title=A Life in Service|date=24 November 2010 |publisher=Gulf News|accessdate=12 November 2016}} with the Al Futtaim partnership, for example, sustaining bitter empire battles on the ending of a major partnerships.

Unlike Al Majid, Al Gaz divested from the majority of his franchise holdings (e.g. selling franchise rights to Nissan in the 1980s) to concentrate on real estate development. Having built the first three-story building in Dubai's history, Al Gaz then developed much of the properly around Port Said: the clock-tower plaza, and Hamriya in Bur Deira, in what became the Deira market place.{{cite web|url=http://www.alkhaleej.ae/supplements/page/0e825417-f468-4ff1-8b0e-e8b66602767d|title=محمد عبد الله القاز.. العصامي الذي بنى لنفسه مجداً|date=2016-06-28|publisher=Al Khaleej|accessdate=2016-11-22}}

Post-federation, Al Gaz helped found the National Council{{cite web|url=http://www.emaratalyoum.com/local-section/other/2016-04-15-1.888573|title=محمد عبدالله القاز أحد أوائل رجال الأعمال والسياسة في الإمارات. الإمارات اليوم|date=14 April 2016 |publisher=Emarat Alyoum|accessdate=12 November 2016}} and served as the first Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of the UAE, from the Bank's founding in 1980 into the mid-1990s. Serving under the Chairman Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammad Al Nahyan, Al Gaz was an important figure in the first two decades of the UAE's economic development.{{cite web|url=http://www.alkhaleej.ae/supplements/page/60ff3a48-3855-4a56-b0a9-995c33de0793|title=محمد عبد الله القاز.. العصامي الذي بنى لنفسه مجداً|date=2016-06-28|publisher=Al Khaleej|accessdate=2016-11-22}}

File:DCFUPLOAD2.jpg

Being among the first generation of Dubai business people formed after the crises of the 1930s, Al Gaz tried to move away from the pearl business. He encouraged private investment in public education by building schools, including the Amna bint Wahb Girls School, the Gamal Abdulnasser Boys School, and the Community Schools. He endowed public and private institutions anonymously, and in 1989 developed with Juma Al Majid the United Arab Emirates' first charitable society, Beit Al Khair.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}}

Al Gaz passed away at the age of 96 from natural causes on April 12, 2016 after a week-long stay in Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi. News of his passing quickly spread throughout the country, with hundreds making their appearance to the burial site in Al Qusais Cemetery. His funeral over the next three days was visited by a number of officials, including senior government leaders, ministers, and businessmen as well as including United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.{{Cite web |last=وام |first=دبي ــ |date=2016-04-14 |title=محمد بن زايد يعزّي في وفاة محمد عبدالله القاز |url=https://www.albayan.ae/across-the-uae/news-and-reports/2016-04-15-1.2618553 |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=www.albayan.ae |language=ar}}{{Cite web |title=تواصل تقديم واجب العزاء في وفاة محمد عبدالله القاز الفلاسي |url=https://www.alkhaleej.ae/2016-04-16/%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%84-%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85-%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%88%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA/%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1 |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=صحيفة الخليج |language=ar}}{{Cite web |last=للأخبار |first=مركز الاتحاد |date=2016-04-13 |title=محمد بن راشد يعزي في وفاة محمد عبدالله القاز |url=https://www.aletihad.ae/article/14661/2016/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%86-%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AF-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D8%B2%D9%8A-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%88%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%84%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%B2 |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=مركز الاتحاد للأخبار |language=ar-AR}}

• UAE Pioneers Award, 2018 - Awarded posthumously for significant contributions to the development of the humanitarian sector in the United Arab Emirates{{Cite web |title=UAE Pioneers |url=https://uaepioneers.gov.ae/en/pioneers |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=uaepioneers.gov.ae}}
• President's Merit Award, 2012 - For his support of the spirit of the union of the United Arab Emirates{{Cite web |last=(Wam) |title=Khalifa honours Mohammed, Sultan |url=https://www.khaleejtimes.com/article/khalifa-honours-mohammed-sultan |access-date=2023-11-18 |website=Khaleej Times |language=en}}
• Dubai Appreciation Award for Community Service, 2022 - Awarded posthumously for his inspiring role to the Dubai community.{{Cite web |title=Mohammed bin Rashid honours winners |url=https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2022/November/15-11/HH-Mohammed-bin-Rashid-honours-winners-of-the-Dubai-Appreciation-Award-for-Community-Service |access-date=2024-02-16 |website=mediaoffice.ae}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://beitalkhair.org/en/ Beit Al Khair website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080913040802/http://www.dsmgdubai.com/dir1.htm Member malls] dsmgdubai.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaz, Mohammad}}

Category:1930 births

Category:2016 deaths

Category:People from Dubai

Category:Emirati businesspeople

Category:Businesspeople from Dubai