Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Elected UAE Head After Khalifa Dies

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who has been the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates for several years, was elected president of the UAE. Sheikh Mohammed, known as MbZ, was elected president by a federal supreme council made up of the rulers of the seven emirates of the UAE federation on Saturday, a day after the death of his half-brother, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed. Not much is expected to change in the UAE under Sheikh Mohammed, who as the leader behind the scenes has created a new anti-Iran alliance together with Israel, which it normalized relations with in 2020, and has fought against  political Islam around the region.

The UAE announced a 40-day mourning period for Sheikh Khalifa, who was also the ruler of Abu Dhabi. Khalifa, who became president of the UAE in 2004, had rarely been seen in public since 2014, when he had a stroke.

Sheikh Mohamed has served as crown prince of Abu Dhabi since November 2004 and is the third son of UAE founder Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Until has election on Saturday as president, he has been serving as deputy commander of the armed forces and chairman of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, which controls the emirate’s substantial finances.