Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan becomes UAE's president

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Rulers in the United Arab Emirates announced Saturday that they unanimously appointed Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the president of this hereditarily ruled nation on the Arabian Peninsula.

The state-run WAM news agency said the rulers of the country's seven sheikhdoms made the decision at a meeting held in Al Mushrif Palace in Abu Dhabi.

It comes after the late President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan died Friday at age 73. The transition of power marks only the third time this U.S.-allied nation of seven sheikhdoms has selected a president since becoming an independent nation in 1971.

This photo made available by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, shows Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi, front left, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, front right, carry the body of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the United Arab Emirates, with other members of royal family at Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed The First mosque, in Abu Dhabi, Friday, May 13, 2022. (Hamad Al Kaabi/Ministry of Presidential Affairs via AP)

The last, which saw Sheikh Khalifa take over for both his and Sheikh Mohammed's father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, came after his death in 2004. The speed of Saturday's announcement, just a day after Sheikh Khalifa's death, appeared designed to show unity and reassure the world of the stability of this crucial oil-and-gas producing nation that hosts Western military forces.

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WAM 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 honor, God willing."

The UAE as a whole is observing a three-day mourning period which will see businesses shut across the country and performances halted in Sheikh Khalifa's honor. Electronic billboards all showed the late sheikh's image in Dubai on Friday night as flags flew at half-staff.

FILE - Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, speaks to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace, in Ankara, Turkey, on Nov. 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

Sheikh Mohammed, 61, had been serving as the UAE's de facto president since a 2014 stroke saw his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa disappear from public view. Under his leadership, the UAE took on a more military-focused approach in the region, joining Saudi Arabia in their bloody, yearslong war in Yemen that still rages to this day.

Sheikh Mohammed also long has been suspicious of both the Muslim Brotherhood and Iran, likely organizing a campaign targeting Islamists in the UAE after the 2011 Arab Spring and urging the West to take a harder line toward Tehran over concerns about its nuclear program and its support of paramilitary groups throughout the region.

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Since the coronavirus pandemic, however, the UAE under Sheikh Mohammed has sought to rehabilitate ties to Iran and Turkey, which has backed Islamists in the region.

"The smooth transition of power in the UAE reflects the sobriety of institutional work and the advanced level of governance mechanisms and their stability," said Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati diplomat.