The UAE’s new sheikh may jolt both succession and federation
Muhammad bin Zayed could promise power to a new generation—and take it away from the other emirates
Transitions do not get much easier. On May 13th the United Arab Emirates (uae) announced the death of its president, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Though he had held the job since 2004, a stroke in 2014 pushed him largely out of the public eye. Running the country fell to his half-brother, Muhammad bin Zayed, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, one of the seven emirates that make up the uae and the one that provides its capital. On paper Muhammad was outranked by the ruler of Dubai, who is also the uae’s prime minister. In practice he was already the most powerful man in the country.
This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The new man tips the scales”
From the May 28th 2022 edition
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