Sheikh Mohammed praises Sarah Al Amiri for TIME Magazine honour

Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology, has been named in the Time100 Impact Awards list, and received a special word of praise from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Friday.

Sheikh Mohammed who tweeted about the achievement, said: “Sara Al Amiri has been named among the 100 most influential figures in 2022, according to the Time International Magazine.”

“The daughter of the Emirates.. and my daughter.. Sarah Al-Amiri.. Among the 100 most influential figures in 2022, according to Time International magazine.. We are proud of our young men and women who have distinguished themselves nationally and globally,” the tweet read (translated from Arabic)

Al Amiri, the chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency has been named among the 100 most influential global figures in 2022 The newly instituted awards is “a recognition of leaders who, through sustained effort, have done extraordinary work to shape the future of their industries and the world at large,” according to a tweet by the magazine.

Introducing the award, Time International tweeted: “Across every industry, TIME100 leaders— scientists and CEOs, artists and activists, pop stars and politicians—are moving our world forward. Just as TIME’s annual list recognises achievement in one year, we also know influence endures. So today, TIME introduces the TIME100 Impact Awards: a recognition of leaders who, through sustained effort, have done extraordinary work to shape the future of their industries and the world at large.

Our first honorees range from an innovator forging a new path to space, to an actor who changed the narrative around mental health to an architect who is quite literally building a better tomorrow.

Other famous names who have made it to the list include Tony Elumelu, who is the champion of entrepreneurship in Africa, Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone; Huda Kattan, an Iraqi-American makeup artist, beauty blogger, and entrepreneur, and David Adjaye, the famous Ghanaian-British architect, among others.

Al Amiri, 34, is one of the drivers of the UAE’s ambitious Hope Probe that made it to the orbit of Mars. The chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, who served as deputy project manager of the Mars initiative — never imagined she would one day become a space star, despite her childhood dreams.

After graduating from high school in 2004, Al Amiri attended the American University of Sharjah, earning bachelors and masters degrees in computer engineering — her other abiding interest.

It was not until she walked into an interview at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre in Dubai in 2009 that she realised that space would be her destiny.

Al Amiri’s first task was to work on Dubai Sat-1, the first Emirati Earth observation satellite, and she rapidly rose through the ranks.

She was appointed minister of state for advanced technology in 2017 and became chairwoman of the Space Agency in August.

Last year, the BBC had listed her as one of the 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2020.

• Dubai