Mohamed bin Zayed Elected President of the United Arab Emirates

The new president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan – WAM/AFP/Archives

Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed, already considered the de facto ruler of the country, was officially elected president of the nation on Saturday (14), to succeed his half-brother Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who died on Friday. -market.

Mohamed bin Zayed, known by the initials “MBZ”, was elected by the Supreme Council of the Federation of the Emirates, the official WAM news agency reported.

The crown prince thanked the sheikhs of the Council – made up of leaders from the country’s seven emirates – for “their trust”.

“MBZ” is the third child of Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, the first president and founding father of the Emirati Federation.

In practice, he had already been in charge of the country since his brother suffered a stroke in January 2014, but his election makes the position of “MBZ” official in the wealthy oil state of 10 million people.

Under the command of Mohamed bin Zayed, the United Arab Emirates sent a man into space and a probe to Mars. The country also inaugurated the first nuclear reactor.

The country’s international policy has also advanced: an ally of Saudi Arabia and the United States, the “MBZ” Emirates were the first Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel in 2020.

“MBZ” also contributed to the deployment of troops to Yemen in 2015 as part of a Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels.