The United Arab Emirates (UAE) president named his eldest son- Sheikh Khaled as the crown prince of Abu Dhabi. With this he has become the next leader of the Gulf monarch, fortifying his family’s hold on power in the oil-rich country. UAE president Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan chose his son for the position which has been traditionally held by the leader-in-waiting.
Here are the top points on Sheikh Khaled, crown prince of Abu Dhabi:
- He was born on January 8, 1982, in Abu Dhabi and is the eldest son of the UAE President.
- He graduated from the American University of Sharjah following which he got a PhD from the Department of War Studies at King’s College London in 2014, Gulf News reported. He loves jujitsu.
- Sheikh Khaled has served as a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council as well as the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office.
- He sits on the board of state oil giant ADNOC.
- Sheikh Khaled’s appointment was welcomed by other Gulf rulers including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, the news agency AFP reported.
- Picking Sheikh Khaled as the crown prince is a part of the larger trend seen in Gulf monarchies where direct lineage is preferred for succession, Bloomberg reported.
- In Saudi Arabia, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman rose to power bypassing more senior ruling family members.
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The United Arab Emirates is a country in Western Asia (the Middle East). It is located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula and shares borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia, as well as maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran. The nation’s capital is Abu Dhabi, and the most populous city, Dubai, is an international hub.
The United Arab Emirates is an elective monarchy formed from a federation of seven emirates, consisting of Abu Dhabi (the capital), Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain.
