Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan
President of the United Arab Emirates
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (born 11 March 1961), also known as MBZ or MbZ, is an Emirati royal and politician who has served as the third president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi since 2022. He was the de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates from 2014 to 2022, ruling for his brother Sheikh Khalifa.
Mohamed completed his education in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, and graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1979. He joined the UAE Armed Forces, and held various posts, before becoming a pilot in the UAE Air Force; he was promoted to general in 2005.
Mohamed is the third son of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE and 16th ruler of Abu Dhabi. Mohamed became the crown prince of Abu Dhabi in 2004, following the death of his father, when his brother, Sheikh Khalifa, became the second president of the UAE, and the ruler of Abu Dhabi. In 2014, Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke, and Mohamed became the de facto leader of the UAE. Following Sheikh Khalifa's death in May 2022, Mohamed became the ruler of Abu Dhabi and was elected president of the UAE by the Federal Supreme Council. In March 2023, Mohamed appointed his son Sheikh Khaled, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, and his successor.
Scholars characterize the UAE under Mohamed as an authoritarian capitalist country, and a rentier state. In 2019, The New York Times named Mohamed as the most powerful Arab ruler, and he was named as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2019 by Time magazine.
“Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan” enters the record as president of the United Arab Emirates. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Mohamed, Zayed and Nahyan can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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