Umm al-Quwain is one of the emirates in the United Arab Emirates. It is located in the north of the country. The emirate was ruled until his death by Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mu''alla, who was a member of the UAE''s Supreme Council since 1981. The emirate had 62,000 inhabitants in 2003 (making it the least populous emirate in the federation) and has an area of 750 square kilometers. Accepted alternative spellings include Umm al Qiwain as well as Umm al-Qawain.