UAE president names son Sheikh Khaled as next crown prince of Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, has named his son Sheikh Khaled as the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the nation's capital and an important player in the region and the Gulf Arab state that is a member of OPEC, state media reported on Wednesday (March 29).

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the ruler of Abu Dhabi and is known by his initials MBZ, named Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan to serve as vice president of the UAE alongside Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, reported Reuters.

He designated Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan as deputy rulers of Abu Dhabi.

In May, upon the death of his half-brother, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, who had ruled Abu Dhabi, MBZ assumed control of the emirate and assumed the presidency of the UAE, which unites the seven rulers of the UAE federation.

Years of MBZ's power behind the scenes resulted in a new anti-Iran axis with Israel and a reconfiguration of the Middle East.

Abu Dhabi, which oversees a number of sovereign wealth funds and is one of the richest state investors in the world, announced a leadership change for its two largest state funds earlier this month.

As chairman of Mubadala, Abu Dhabi's second-largest sovereign wealth fund, MBZ was also replaced by Sheikh Mansour, owner of Manchester City football club.