UAE’s Sharjah ruler appoints new deputy
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The ruler of Sharjah, the UAE’s third-largest city, has named Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed al-Qasimi as deputy ruler and head of the Sharjah Petroleum Council, according to official news agency WAM. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qasimi, the emirate’s 82-year-old ruler who has led Sharjah since 1972, made the nominations in decrees issued on Monday. Last year, the emirate’s previous deputy ruler passed away.
In 1987, a failed coup shook Sharjah, which straddles the interior of the Arabian Peninsula that flows north into the Strait of Hormuz. Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the UAE’s most powerful states, backed opposing sides. Sheikh Sultan has two sons, the younger of whom died in 2019 and the older of whom died 20 years ago.
His new deputy, who received his education in the United States, has held a number of high-ranking positions, including chairman of the Sharjah Media Council and the Sharjah National Oil Company.
The United Arab Emirates federation, created in 1971, is made up of seven emirates, including Dubai, a major economic and tourism hub, and Abu Dhabi, the Gulf Arab state’s capital and the source of the majority of the country’s oil wealth.