The executive authority and head of the government is the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

[4] The ruler of Abu Dhabi is the absolute monarch of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and has the sole authority to issue decrees establishing governmental departments, issuing and amending laws and is the head of government.

[7][8][9] The Abu Dhabi Executive Council is the main executive governing organ of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, being responsible for enforcing local laws and interpreting and enforcing UAE federal law.

Since 2004, the chairman of the ADEC has been Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan who was appointed as crown prince of Abu Dhabi and continues to serve as chairman following his assumption of the position of ruler of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE in May 2022.

25 April 2019. established the Abu Dhabi Executive Office (ADEO) as an independent entity, replacing the Secretariat of the ADEC with a task of supporting the ADEC in administrative duties, legal opinions, researching proposals provided by governmental departments, contracting third-party consultants, and publishing the official gazette.