On Wednesday, United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan named Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the Country’s vice president and designated Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was also named as the Minister of the Presidential Court and was appointed alongside current Vice President Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also the Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, according to WAM.
Sheikh Mohamed designated Sheikh Khaled as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Hazza bin Zayed, and Tahnoun bin Zayed as deputy rulers of Abu Dhabi, WAM said in later statements.
Sheikh Khaled, 41-year-old, the new crown prince, has risen to prominence at the country’s state security service and as the chairman of the powerful Abu Dhabi Executive Office. The United Arab Emirates, a close US ally, is best known as the home of Dubai, a major international hub for business and travel.
During Sheikh Mohamed’s rule, the UAE developed close relations with neighboring Saudi Arabia, initially joining in the war against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants before largely exiting the conflict years later. The UAE has aimed to launch military power across the region as it has opposed the rise of Islamist groups.
In 2020, the UAE normalized ties with Israel in the first of the so-called Abraham Accords, followed by Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. The UAE and other Gulf Arab nations had peacefully maintained relations with Israel for years before then, drawn together by mutual suspicions of Iran.
The UAE hosts some 3,500 US armies, many at Abu Dhabi’s Al-Dhafra Air Base, from where drones and fighter jets flew missions battling ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Dubai is the US Navy’s most active port of call abroad.
