The World Economic Forum is no stranger to rock stars. The Geneva-based organization famous for its exclusive Davos gathering of the world's business and political elite usually attracts a smattering of Hollywood stars -- and the likes of Bono, the legendary U2 lead singer and global activist -- who turn more heads than the political big wigs. In the 2004 World Economic Forum regional meeting in Jordan, an unlikely "rock star" emerged: Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai and widely touted draftsman of the Dubai economic miracle. "He drew crowds like Bono does in Davos," said one observer. "He was the rock star of the meetings."

Sheikh Mohammad, as he is widely known in the region, has won plaudits for charting the meteoric rise of Dubai to what it is today: a dynamic regional business hub; a high-tech center that has attracted the likes of Microsoft and Oracle; a world-class leisure destination; a shopping mecca that attracts consumers from around the world; a major conference site that hosted the 2003 World Bank/IMF annual meetings to much praise; and a global, cosmopolitan city in the making, where people from more than 180 nationalities live and work.

In the process, Dubai has emerged as a regional model