Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the crown prince of Abu Dhabi and the current Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces. He is the son of the ‘Father of the nation’ and the first President of UAE, late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He was appointed as the Deputy Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in November 2003 and he became the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in November 2004 after the death of his father. Later in January 2005, he was appointed as the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Born on 11th March 1961, Mohammad Al-Nahyan was born to the President of UAE Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his third wife Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi. He has five younger brothers and the family is known as Ban Fatima or Sons of Fatima. Mohammd Al-Nahyan’s full name is Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa bin Shakhbout bin Theyab bin Issa bin Nahyan bin Falah bin Yas. He did his schooling from the schools in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi and later in 1979, at the age of 18; he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurt and trained in armour, tactical flying and paratroops, and helicopter flying. After completing his graduation, he returned home and joined the Officers Training Course in Sharjah and after joining the UAE military he held many positions from being the Officer in the Amiri Guard to being the Pilot in the UAE Air Force to his current role of being the Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Force. His father Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the most important person of the country and he played a vital role for the formation of UAE. He was also the first President of the country and he held this position for 33 years. After his death in 2004, Mohammad Al Nahyan’s elder brother Sheikh Khalifabin Zayed Al Nahyan was declared as the President of UAE and Al-Nahyan was appointed as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in November 2004. He also serves as a special adviser to the President of UAE, his elder brother. In January 2005, he was appointed as the Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces and later was promoted to the rank of General. He was also appointed as the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and was responsible for the development and planning of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and is also included as the member of the Supreme Petroleum Council. He holds the position of the chief of the Abu Dhabi council for economic development; the department is the economic policy advisory council in Abu Dhabi. Al-Nahyan has been a vital representative of the UAE and has represented the country as well as launched many initiatives for his country globally. In 2008, he selected the scholars from the Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed University and with an initiative with the New York University Abu Dhabi; he provided them special academic and leadership opportunities. In 2010, he along with the foreign minister of UAE Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh to UAE for the second state visit and accompanied them on a tour to the heikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Later in 2011 he also received Hillary Clinton, the then US Secretary of the State. In the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit hosted by South Korea, Al-Nahyan represented UAE and he again was the UAE representative in the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Netherlands. In the UAE government summit of 2015, he was invited as a key speaker and in the speech and he officially for the first time spoke to the nation regarding its matters and shared the vision of UAE post oil age and created an impact among the citizens with his forecast. He also played a keen role in developing the UAE Armed forces in terms of strategic planning, training, organizational structure and in promoting the defence capabilities of the country. UAE Armed Force under his leadership became one of the leading international military organizations in the world.
In 1981, Al-Nahyan married to Sheikha Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan and the couple has four sons and five daughters. Al-Nahyan is known well internationally and has also been a reciepient of many awards and nominations worldwide. He has received awards from countries like Bahrain, Italy, France Qatar, Malaysia, Spain, United Kingdom, United Nations and Pakistan. There is als a species of woodlizard-‘Envaliodes binzayedi’ has been named after him as the founder of the species received financial support from the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund. In March 2008, Al-Nahyan became the recipient of the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit by the Kingdom of Spain.
