WAM
DUBAI,Jan 5: Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, the defense minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has taken over as ruler of Dubai following the death of Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashed Al Maktoum on Wednesday.
Sheikh Maktoum died in Australia at the age of 62 and the accession process, with the handover to Dubai's crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed, was automatic, officials said.
Sheikh Mohammed is the architect of the city state's development boom, one of the seven that form the UAE federation.
Forty days of national mourning have been declared, with government offices closed for a week.