United Arab Emirates

Federal National Council

Political system
Monarchy
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Majlis Watani Itihadi (Federal National Council)
Chamber name
Majlis Watani Itihadi (Federal National Council)
Structure & status of parliament
Lower chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
4

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1977
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Arab group

Speaker

Official title
Speaker of the Federal National Council
Speaker
Saqr Ghobash (Male)
Date of birth: 19 Sep 1952
Term
14 Nov 2019
Additional information

Elected on 14 Nov. 2019, re-elected on 6 Nov. 2023.

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General
Secretary General
Omar Abulrahman Salem Al Nuaimi (Male)
Term
09 Dec 2019
Notes

Appointed on 9 Dec. 2019.

Members

Statutory number of members
40

Notes:

Indirect elections by an electoral college.

Appointed members: appointed by the rulers of the various emirates.

Principal mode of designation of members
Other
Indirectly elected members
20
Appointed members
20
Current number of members
40
Men
20
Women
20
Percentage of women
50.0%
Statutory number of members per country
40
Population (in thousands)
10,642
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
266,050

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
52.3
(2023-11)
Youngest member
Meera Al Suwaidi (Female)
Youngest member (years)
36
Oldest member
Saqr Ghobash (Male)
Oldest member (years)
71
Number of members, by age (2023-11)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 0 1 4 1 9 4 1 0 0 20
Female 0 0 2 2 6 8 2 0 0 0 20
Totals per age interval 0 0 3 6 7 17 6 1 0 0 40
Total <= 45: 9 Total >= 46: 31
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
7.5% 3% 5.0%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
22.5% 13% 10.0%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: Women have a 50% quota in the parliament.

Sources: 2019 Presidential Decree No. (1)

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
No information available
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No