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Governance and politics of Abu Dhabi(UAE)
By Metilda Carl Published: 08/02/2009
The hereditary ruler of Abu Dhabi(UAE) is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan He is a son of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the United Arab Emirates. His half-brother, General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and wields considerable influence as Chairman of Abu Dhabi's Executive Council and Deputy Supreme Commander of Abu Dhabi's armed forces.
The city is overseen primarily by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, which is chaired by Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The total number of members of the Executive Council has been slimmed down to 12 since the succession and consists largely of prominent members of the ruling family as well as a number of respected politicians.
The emirates maintain their hereditary rulers who, as a group, form the UAE’s Supreme Council of Rulers, headed by the president. Although the presidency is renewable every five years through a vote in the council, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan held the presidency from the formation of the UAE until his death in November 2004, and there is an implicit understanding that Abu Dhabi’s ruler will always be elected president.
At a federal level, laws must be ratified by the Supreme Council. The Council of Ministers forms the executive authority of the state. This 20-member cabinet is headed by the president’s chosen prime minister, a post currently held by Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The cabinet also refers to the Federal National Council (FNC), a 40-member consultative body to which each emirate appoints a certain number of members. In the case of Abu Dhabi, this is eight. The procedures for appointment to the FNC have recently been amended so that each emirate must now select its representatives through an electoral body. The size of each electoral authority must be 100 times greater than the number of representatives it appoints. Half the members of each electoral body will be selected by the ruler of the emirate while the other half will be directly elected by residents of the emirate. These amendments are considered to be the first step in a wider electoral reform program which will see greater representation at a federal level.
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