Mohamed bin Zayed's intensified pressure to oust his brother and appoint his son as crown prince

Informed Emirati sources reported that Mohamed bin Zayed has intensified his pressure to oust rivals, including his half-brother Tahnoon bin Zayed, to nominate his eldest son as the Crown Prince.

According to many diplomatic sources, UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed is pressuring his brothers to agree to the appointment of his eldest son, Sheikh Khaled Mohamed bin Zayed, as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, paving the way for his future successor to rule the Emirates.

The sources revealed that Mohamed bin Zayed's desire to appoint his son Khalid as his successor and opposition of his brothers to this request, has led to the postponement of the announcement of Muhammad bin Zayed's successor in Abu Dhabi.

The appointment of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi is practically a gateway to rule the UAE in future, something that happened to Mohamed bin Zayed, when his half-brother Khalifa bin Zayed went through coma, and he became the de facto ruler of Abu Dhabi in recent years.

The death of Khalifa bin Zayed was announced this month, who dies of a stroke in mysterious circumstances.

The United Arab Emirates' long-ailing ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan had long ceased having involvement in the day-to-day affairs of ruling the country. Instead, his half-brother, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, was seen as the de-factor ruler and the decision-maker of major foreign policy decisions, such as joining a Saudi-led war in Yemen and spearheading an embargo on neighboring Qatar in recent years.

His control deepened after Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke in 2014 and retired from public life. Since then, the ruling family has overlooked dramatic domestic reforms seeking to secularize society and torn up the regional rule book by normalizing diplomatic relations with Israel.

The sources stressed that Mohamed bin Zayed has been trying for years to prepare his son Sheikh Khaled for the government, and that the process of change and restructuring of government institutions in Abu Dhabi shows that Bin Zayed has always tried to pave the way for Khalid to come to power over the years.

Educated in the US, Sheikh Khaled, 40, started his formal government career within the security services, graduating to domestic policy in recent years, including oversight of a powerful Abu Dhabi executive agency. His profile has risen in recent years as he took on more senior government roles.

In this regard, in October 2019, Khalid became a member of the "Abu Dhabi Executive Council", which is the most powerful governing body of the Emirates.

In December 2020, he joined the board of the Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs, a new council to oversee Abu Dhabi's economy, including the vital sectors of oil and gas.

In addition, Khalid is the head of the executive offices of the political and oil sectors, which gives him the experience of leadership and extensive influence in the political and economic affairs of government administration.

Khalid Mohamed bin Zayed also heads the government's security apparatus, which is the most powerful security and intelligence apparatus in the UAE, allowing him to increase his power and eliminate the uncles and other members of the Al-Nahyan family in his way to rule Abu Dhabi.

“There are obviously concerns that MBZ wants to establish his own dynasty by selecting Khaled. It would be a massive departure from the traditional power dynamics in the UAE, ”said Cinzia Bianco, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “MBZ is already doing centralization – this would be hyper-centralization.”

The British Financial Times wrote in a report: "Speculation shows that Mohamed bin Zayed broke the current customs in the ruling families of the country and instead of choosing Tahnoon bin Zayed, as his successor, he intends to appoint his son Khaled as his successor."

In addition, informed sources revealed that Sheikh Khaled, the eldest son of Mohammed bin Zayed, has in recent months focused his efforts on expanding his influence with Israel's Mossad.

The sources added that Khaled, who heads the UAE security service, has set up a separate communication channel with Mossad chiefs to exchange information and strengthen bilateral relations.

"Since the appointment of David Dadi Barnea, as the director of Mossad last May, Khaled has made every effort to establish direct contact with Barnea as soon as possible so that he can be in frequent contact with him," they added. 

The sources described Khaled's action as an open confrontation with Tahnoon bin Zayed, the UAE national security adviser and Mohamed bin Zayed's half-brother, and an attempt to oust him. 

In addition to Israel, Mohamed bin Zayed is secretly trying to strengthen his eldest son's relationship with the US and European intelligence services in order to prepare him for his succession by consolidating his power base in the UAE.

The illness of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, the former head of the UAE, intensified the power of struggle between Muhammad bin Zayed and his brother Tahnoon, the UAE's second powerful man on the one hand, and Tahnoon and Khaled on the other.

Tahnoon chairs the UAE Strategic Affairs Committee and is said to have clues to all the Chinese conspiracies and chaos in the region. He also owns large trading companies in the UAE and is the chairman of Abu Dhabi Bank and Royal Group of Companies. Apart from the government and political positions, Tahnoon is seen in the economic arena, especially in arms and military contracts, which has surprised the world's largest arms companies.

Mansour bin Zayed, another brother of Mohamed bin Zayed, is another successor candidate. He is the Deputy Prime Minister and owner of the Manchester City Football Club and has extensive economic and commercial activities. His name is associated with the financial scandal of the Malaysian company (1MDB) and this has made him less likely to hold this position.

Meanwhile, "Hazza bin Zayed", vice president of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi Emirate, has also been mentioned as one of the most serious successor options in Abu Dhabi in the coming years.

Some observers believe that the announcement of a new Crown Prince will be postponed until the end of forty days of mourning period for Sheikh Khalifa.

Author: Edward Wilson