Dubai: A day after President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan passed away, the Supreme Council on Saturday announced that His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan will be the next President of the UAE. The 61-year-old leader will be the country’s third president, after succeeding Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,

Sheikh Mohamed, who is also the Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, was elected by the UAE’s Federal Supreme Council. He will hold office for a five-year term before being eligible for re-election.

The development comes after the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (73), passed away on Friday.

On his sad demise, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs has announced that there will be 40 days of official mourning with flags across the UAE drawn at half-mast, and the work of all UAE ministries at the federal and local levels, as well as those of the private sector, will also be suspended for three days.

However, no official word is given yet on the cause of death. In a statement published in Arabic by state news agency WAM, the ministry expressed its condolences to the people of the UAE and the Arab nations “on the death of the leader of the nation and the guardian of its journey, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the country”.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed served as the President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi since November 3, 2004.