On May 14, Emirates News Agency reported that Khalifa’s half-brother, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, had been elected as president of the United Arab Emirates. The vote by the Federal Supreme Council was unanimous.
Frequently called MBZ in the media, Mohammed is crown prince of Abu Dhabi, so his succession as emir, or sovereign prince, was perhaps guaranteed. He also has the requisite experience. For at least five years, Sheikh Mohammed had already assumed de facto power as head of state, as Khalifa’s health began to deteriorate.
Born in 1961, according to his official biography, to Sheikh Zayed and his third wife, Fatima Mubarak, Mohammed attended Sandhurst — England’s foremost military school — and has cultivated good relationships with Western governments. According to The New York Times, the Pentagon saw him as a “promising partner” during the Gulf War; later, his friendship with Donald Trump made him a perfect instrument of Emirati soft power.
