United Arab Emirates have appointed two minsters to oversee happiness and tolerance among the populace.
“A new post, Minister of State for Happiness, will align and drive government policy to create social good and satisfaction,” Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum wrote on his Twitter page.
Ohood Al Roumi as Minister of State for Happiness. She remains responsible as DG of the Prime Minister’s Office. pic.twitter.com/1Omrzc9b8F
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) February 10, 2016
He also said happiness should be a way of life for the UAE, and that all cabinet ministers will be responsible for it.
“National happiness isn’t a wish. Plans, projects, programs, indices will inform the work of our ministries to achieve happiness,” he added.
The minister responsible for state happiness will be Ohoud al-Roumi – one of five women newly appointed to the UAE cabinet.
The world’s happiest country is Switzerland, which does not have any ministries responsible for happiness.
The UAE actually also didn’t seem unhappy before the creation of the new ministry: it ranked 20 in the table.
Along with the Ministry of Happiness, the Gulf state has also created the Ministry of Tolerance – which will also be headed by a woman.
“The post of Minister of State for Tolerance has been created to promote tolerance as a fundamental value in UAE society,” the prime minister tweeted when announcing reshuffles in the government.
Leave a Reply