By Rosette Nandutu,

The UAE’s long-time de facto ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as president on Saturday a day after the death of its former leader.

Sheikh Mohamed was elected by the Federal Supreme Council, according to Aljazeera news agency after years of calling the shots from behind the scenes while his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa was sidelined by poor health.

The rulers of the United Arab Emirates’ seven sheikhdoms made the decision at a meeting. It comes after the late President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan died on Friday.

Mohammed began wielding power in a period when his half-brother Sheikh Khalifa suffered bouts of illness, including a stroke in 2014.

Abu Dhabi, which holds most of the Gulf state’s oil wealth, has held the presidency since the founding of the UAE federation by Sheikh Khalifa’s father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, in 1971.