Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan was unanimously chosen to lead the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, one day after the passing of his father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, the federation's founding president since 1971.
The seven-member Supreme Federal Council, composed of each emirate's ruling head, approved the succession without dissent. Sheikh Khalifa, born in 1948, had served as deputy prime minister following the UAE's founding on 2 December 1971, and later took on a senior military role in May 1976. He also chairs the Supreme Petroleum Council, a body with broad authority over energy policy.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.