Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, considered the de facto ruler of the United Arab Emirates, was elected president of the wealthy Gulf monarchy on Saturday. He succeeds his half-brother, Khalifa ben Zayed Al-Nahyan, who died the previous day.
Mohammad bin Zayed, said MBZ, was elected unanimously of members of the Supreme Council of the Federation of the Emirates, which includes seven emirates, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the official WAM news agency said.
Third son of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, first president and founder of the Emirates Federation, MBZ has been in office since Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan had a stroke in January 2014.
Mohammad bin Zayed has thanked the sheikhs of the Federal Supreme Council for their trust.
The election of MBZ formalize its position as head of the oil -rich country of about 10 million inhabitants.
Under his leadership, Emirates pursued a more stringent policy on the international scene.
Allied countries of Saudi Arabia and the United States, the Emirates of MBZ is the first Gulf country to normalize relations with Israel by 2020.
MBZ is also widely believed to have sent Emirati troops to Yemen in 2015, as part of a Saudi -led coalition against Houthi rebels.
Source: Radio-Canada
