UAE: Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan

Role: UAE President

Over more than three decades of wielding increasing political influence, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) has emerged as a key architect of the modern UAE.

As president since 2022, and de facto ruler for several years before that, MBZ has been closely associated with the UAE’s projection of soft power and military muscle in the surrounding region, and its position as a major economic force.

In recent years, MBZ has overseen Abu Dhabi’s rise as a commercial hub to challenge Dubai, augmenting its huge oil income; indeed, the non-oil sector now accounts for a greater share of the emirate’s GDP than the hydrocarbons industry. He has also overseen a concentration of political power and economic influence.