Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was elected as UAE president on Saturday, has driven the Gulf country’s rise to greater prominence.
The 61-year-old took office after the death on Friday of his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who had led the country since 2004.
Sheikh Mohamed was unanimously elected by the Federal Supreme Council, made up of rulers of the UAE’s seven emirates. He has also been named as ruler of Abu Dhabi, which controls most of the country’s oil wealth.
Despite his low profile, and apparent reluctance to speak in public, his ambition has been on display in recent years as the UAE built its profile as a regional player.
He was first Gulf leader to strike a deal normalizing relations with Israel, breaking with the decades-old Arab League consensus to isolate Israel until it agrees to the establishment of Palestinian state.
The UAE — a collection of emirates better known for its skyscrapers, palm-shaped islands and opulent mega attractions — has in short order built a nuclear power program and sent a man to space.
And in July 2020 it joined another elite club by sending a probe to Mars, to mark the 50th anniversary of its unification.
Sheikh Mohamed, who was named crown prince of Abu Dhabi in November 2004, is the third son of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan — the founder of the UAE.
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.
Born in the capital on March 11, 1961, Sheikh Mohamed was sent to military school in Britain, where he graduated from the famed Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1979.
He rapidly rose through the ranks to become air force commander, deputy chief of staff and finally chief of staff in January 1993, and a year later was promoted to the rank of general.
Described by diplomats as Abu Dhabi’s strongman, Sheikh Mohamed has forged links in world capitals, particularly in the West.
Although Sheikh Mohamed does not often speak in public — he left the November 2017 inaugural speech of the Louvre Abu Dhabi to Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid — his reach cannot be underestimated.
Under his leadership, Abu Dhabi has fostered trade and political ties across the region — including, to a limited extent, with Shiite Iran — but has sided with the US against Tehran’s nuclear program and with Saudi Arabia on its role in the mainly Sunni Arab world.
In 2017, he announced that Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque, also known as Sheikh Zayed Mosque after his father, would be renamed the Mariam Umm Issa (Mary, Mother of Jesus) mosque as a means to “consolidate bonds of humanity between followers of different religions”.
A latest report by the Emirates News Agency (WAM) sheds lights on the economic vision of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan that is based on accelerating the implementation and development of an ambitious economic vision for the next 50 years and the Centennial 2071, which keeps pace with the fast-paced and multifaceted changes of the global economy.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s vision is focused on relying on knowledge, innovation and investment in people, enhancing the role of the private sector as an active partner in the economic landscape, promoting investment incentives, and ensuring more economic diversification, while continuing to maximise utilisation of oil and gas resources and enhancing the nation’s ability to produce more renewable and clean energy in the coming decades.
The vision of the new UAE President stems from the efforts and determination of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, and the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to tap into new resources and utilising potential. Within this context, His Highness said during the opening of the 2015 World Governments Summit, “We think and plan for the next fifty years, and for the benefit of next generations, by building a diversified, solid and sustainable economy that does not depend only on traditional resources and opens promising prospects that contribute to strengthening the foundations and capabilities of the nation.”
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s vision and directives were the main driver behind advancing ADNOC’s global position, developing the energy sector and keeping pace with global shifts by focusing on flexibility, elasticity and evolution.
The UAE Retreat on Post-Oil Phase in 2016, in which His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, took part, was a key pillar in the UAE’s plans for the next decades. The retreat tackled the then-current state of the UAE economy, and opportunities to develop the vital non-oil sectors in the country and enhance their efficiency to help advance the UAE’s global position, as well as explored future forecasts of the UAE economy, through which best government strategies were adopted to transform and create positive change across vital sectors.
In September 2021, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed said in a tweet, “The UAE has succeeded in establishing its status as an economic capital in the region and an ideal business landscape with world-class digital infrastructure, services, security and competitive investment benefits.
“The launch of our new economic campaign aims to secure the UAE’s position as one of the strongest global economics over the next 50 years.”
The vision of the UAE’s new president bolsters continuity in growth to ensure a safe and stable future for the UAE’s next generations by enabling them to keep pace with technological advancements and to utilise their capabilities and creativity in the new branches of industry, advanced manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence, space, energy, pharmaceuticals, food industries, and other vital sectors.
An avid football fan, Sheikh Mohamed is president of the local club in the oasis of Al-Ain, his father’s hometown and the second largest city in Abu Dhabi.
He has also been spotted cycling through the capital in shorts and a helmet.
A keen hunter and a poetry enthusiast, he is married to fellow royal Sheikha Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan. The couple has four sons and five daughters.
(With inputs from AFP and WAM)