By a series of decrees, published on Wednesday evening March 29, the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Mohammed Ben Zayed Al Nahyan, known as “MBZ”, consolidated his clan’s hold on the apparatus of State of this extremely wealthy petromonarchy, at the forefront of the rise of the Gulf on the international scene.
Among these measures, the most important is that of the appointment as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi of the eldest son of “MBZ”, Khaled Ben Zayed Al Nahyan, 41 years old. Unless there is a surprise reshuffle, this promotion designates the one who had been national security chief since 2016 as the future successor to his father at the head of the UAE.
The presidency of the federation has always been assumed, since its creation in 1971, by the Emir of Abu Dhabi, the most powerful of the seven principalities which compose it. Mohammed Ben Zayed being 62 years old and, it seems, in perfect health, the transfer of supreme power to the hands of his son will not take place for several years. By formalizing his succession very early on, “MBZ” seeks to prevent any competition in his entourage that could harm the stability of the country.
Satisfy all ambitions
The decree of appointment had been awaited since he officially became head of state in May 2022, on the death of his half-brother Khalifa, the titular president, whom a stroke had removed from power in 2014. Sheikh Mohammed he himself had been named crown prince of Abu Dhabi in 2004, after the death of his father, Sheikh Zayed, founder of the UAE, and the accession of Khalifa to the leadership of the emirate, and therefore of the UAE.
Anxious to satisfy all ambitions, “MBZ” made sure to also distribute honors to his brothers, some of whom could claim the title of dolphin. Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed, 52, owner of Manchester City football club and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, who was recently placed at the head of Mubadala, one of the main Emirati investment funds, obtains, in addition to all these hats, the position of vice-president of the federation.
He will exercise this function jointly with the emir of Dubai and prime minister of the federation, Sheikh Mohammed Ben Rachid Al Maktoum, 73, known as “MBR”, who is also his father-in-law. If it can be read as a way of celebrating the Abu Dhabi-Dubai alliance, cement of the UAE, this appointment also risks being perceived, in this second emirate, as a new sign of its political decline.
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