The United Arab Emirates’ longtime de facto ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been elected as president today after the death of its former leader.
Sheikh Mohamed was elected by the Federal Supreme Council, the state-run WAM news agency said, after years of calling the shots from behind the scenes while his half-brother President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan was sidelined by poor health.
The rulers of the UAE’s seven sheikhdoms made the decision at a meeting. It comes after Sheikh Khalifa died on Friday at age 73.
After his election, Mohamed expressed appreciation of the “precious trust” placed in him by members of the council, WAM added.
It described the vote as unanimous among the rulers of the country’s sheikhdoms, which also includes the skyscraper-studded city of Dubai.
“We congratulate him and we pledge allegiance to him, and our people pledge allegiance to him,” Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said on Twitter after the vote. “The whole country is led by him to take it on the paths of glory and honour, God willing.”
Widely known as MBZ, Sheikh Mohamed is one of the Arab world’s most powerful leaders. A graduate of Britain’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, he commands one of the best-equipped armies in the Gulf region.
Working behind the scenes for years as de facto leader, Sheikh Mohamed, 61, transformed the UAE military into a high-tech force, which coupled with its oil wealth and business hub status, extended Emirati influence internationally.
Sheikh Mohamed began wielding power in a period when his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa suffered bouts of illness, including a stroke in 2014. Under his low-key direction, the UAE has put a man in space, sent a probe to Mars, and opened its first nuclear reactor.
(Aljazeera)
