Mohammed Ben Sulayem | |||||||||||
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| President of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile | |||||||||||
| Assumed office 17 December 2021 | |||||||||||
| Preceded by | Jean Todt | ||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||
| Born | 12 November 1961 Dubai, Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates) | ||||||||||
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Mohammed Ahmad Sultan Ben Sulayem (Arabic: محمد بن سليم; born 12 November 1961) is an Emirati former rally driver and current president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of many auto racing events including Formula One.
He is a former rally driver, and one of the most successful Middle East Rally Championship drivers, winning 14 titles. In 2005, he became the President of the Emirates Motorsports Organization, the representative of the United Arab Emirates in the FIA. In 2008, he was elected as a Vice President for sport and a member of the FIA World Motor Sport Council. He was key to organizing the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009. In 2012, he was among the founding members and chairman of FIA sub-region of Arab Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs. In December 2021, he was appointed as FIA President, succeeding Jean Todt.
Sulayem was born on 12 November 1961 in Dubai, Trucial States (now United Arab Emirates). He studied business at the American University in Washington D.C., and at the University of Ulster where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree.[1]
Sulayem is a prominent car collector and owns multiple supercars including Koenigsegg Agera, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Bugatti, Jaguar, Lexus, Ford GT, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.[2]
In July 2012, he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science from the University of Ulster, in recognition of his services to sport, civic leadership and charity.[3]
On 7 March 2023, Ben Sulayem's son, Saif Ben Sulayem, was killed in a road accident in Dubai.[4][5]
Ben Sulayem competed in the Middle East Rally Championship driving for Toyota and Ford. He won his first title in 1986 with a Toyota Celica and went on to win six consecutive titles till 1991.[6] In 1994, He won his seventh title with a Ford Escort RS Cosworth. From 1996 to 2002, Ben Sulayem won a further seven titles with Ford, making the most successful driver in the championship with over 60 wins and 14 titles (both the records have since been broken by Nasser Al-Attiyah).[6]
In 2005, he became the President of the Emirates Motorsports Organization, the representative of the UAE in FIA.[7] In 2008, he was elected as a Vice President for sport and a member of the FIA World Motor Sport Council, and he was key to organizing the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in 2009.[8] In 2012, he was among the founding members and chairman of FIA sub-region of Arab Council of Touring and Automobile Clubs.[7]
In June 2013, he was appointed as the chairman of the new Motor Sport Development Task Force set up by the FIA to build a ten-year plan for the sport's global development.[9] In December 2021, he was appointed as the FIA President succeeding Jean Todt.[10]
Individual honors won include:[7]
In 2009, during a promotional event for Renault F1 team in Dubai, Ben Sulayem crashed a Renault R28 Formula One car in a race against a Ford GT.[11]
In January 2023, The Times newspaper resurfaced comments Ben Sulayem made on his now archived website in 2001. The newspaper quoted Sulayem as saying he did not like "women who think they are smarter than men, for they are not in truth". The veracity of the quotes was not refuted by Sulayem, but the FIA defended him saying "the remarks in this archived website from 2001 do not reflect the president's beliefs".[12]
