Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, new President of the Emirates

Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan has become the new president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following the death on Friday of his half-brother Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan after a decision taken by the national Federal Supreme Council.

"Mohammed bin Zayed is the shadow of Khalifa and his extension in us. We congratulate him, we pledge allegiance to him and our people pledge allegiance to him," the UAE's Federal Supreme Council said in an official statement carried by the official Emirati news agency WAM.

Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, 61, takes over the reins of the Emirate as "strongman" after serving as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in recent years. He ceases to be crown prince and becomes the new emir of Abu Dhabi, one of the emirates that form part of the UAE, and becomes the nation's highest office, although he had already served as the emirate's shadow ruler in recent times due to the health problems of Khalifa bin Zayed, who spent 18 years as the country's president. 

The recently deceased president suffered a stroke in 2014 and Mohammed bin Zayed went on to lead the country from his position as crown prince of Abu Dhabi and senior leader of the UAE Armed Forces.

MBZ, as he is known internationally, is a very important figure within the Emirati country and has been the driving force behind important policies for the wealthy Gulf nation. He is considered to be one of the driving forces behind the famous Abraham Accords by which several Arab countries such as the Emirates officially established diplomatic relations with Israel in September 2020 under the auspices of Donald Trump's former US administration. These pacts have meant a great boost for the pacification of the Middle East by favouring rapprochement with the Israeli state in order to confront the threats in the region, mainly the belligerence and interventionism of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as various analysts have pointed out. This opposition to the ayatollahs' regime led the UAE and Saudi Arabia to lead the Arab alliance fighting on the ground in Yemen's war against the Houthi rebels, an Iranian-backed Shia militia that seeks to undermine the established Yemeni government. 

Among Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan's main objectives over the years has been to turn the Emirate into a global military and economic power, and he has witnessed the country's great financial growth, which is now committed to diversifying the economy by boosting various sectors such as energy and tourism to avoid excessive dependence on the main source of income, which is the national oil sector. 

The new Emirati president has also represented during these years the fight against religious extremism in the world and, in fact, in February 2019, the Emirates hosted the signing of the Document of Human Fraternity, which featured Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed al-Tayeb, great representatives of the Catholic Church and of all Muslims on the planet. This event opened a very important stage in the struggle for coexistence and human fraternity in the world. 

Under the leadership of Mohammed bin Zayed, the Emirates also played a very important role internationally in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic by sending a very large volume of material and personnel to dozens of countries to combat COVID-19. Furthermore, in recent years, it has been promoting the Gulf country's technological development with very important initiatives such as the dispatch of the Al-Amal probe as part of the Arab mission to Mars. 

MBZ was born on 11 March 1961 in Al Ain, in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, before his father, Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, unified the seven emirates that make up the UAE and is considered the founding father of the Emirates. 

His father is Mohammed bin Zayed's main role model, as a symbol of inter-religious tolerance and humility, something he also wants to pass on to his children, as he has indicated in several media interviews. 

The new Emirati president studied in Morocco and later graduated from the Sandhurst military academy in the UK, before becoming deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces in 2005. 

In 2004, he was appointed crown prince following the death of his father and the ascension to the presidency of his half-brother Khalifa. Now, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan officially becomes the country's top national leader with the aim of maintaining the path of progress and strong positioning for the UAE on the international stage.