Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been elected the Third President of the United Arab Emirates. The announcement of his appointment by the Supreme Council comes 24 hours after the demise of HH Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who died on 13 May.

Sheikh Mohamed will also be the 17th ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mohamed has been appointed President fo a term of five years, after which he will be eligible for re-election. Sheikh Mohamed was the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi since 2004 and the Deput Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces since January 2005, where he played a strategic role in its strategic planning, training, organisational structure and promoting defence capabilites of the country.

Sheikh Mohamed, as pe local reports has been the pillar of support for the late President Sh Khalifa who was suffering from poor health for long and has been calling the shots for a long time now.

Meanwhile, Sheikh Khalifa after whom the tallest tower in the world Burj Khalifa in Dubai has been christened, was laid to rest at the Al Bateen Cemetry in Abu Dhabi just hours after his demise, in accordance with traditions. Dubai. which was suffering its bigget financial crisis in 2009, was bailed out by Abu Dhabi under the leadership of Sheikh Khalifa, after which the towering Burj Al Arab was christened Burj Khalifa.

Sheikh Mohamed, aged 61 years, was born on 1 march 1961 at Al Ain in the UAE. He is the son of the founding President of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed and is half bother of Late Sheikh Khalifa Al Nahyan.