United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has died, state news agency WAM reported on Friday. (Read More Here).
Khalifa, who was born in 1948, came to power in 2004 in the richest emirate Abu Dhabi and became the head of state. He is expected to be succeeded as ruler of Abu Dhabi by his half-brother Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.
Mohammed bin Zayed has been the de facto ruler of the US-allied UAE, particularly after Khalifa suffered a stroke in 2014, following which he has rarely been seen in public.
A period of mourning will begin effective immediately for 40 days, where flags will be at half-mast, the Presidential Affairs Ministry said, according to WAM. Work in ministries and government departments on federal and local levels, as well as in the private sector, will also be suspended for three days effective immediately.
Khalifa bin Zayed is the eldest son of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding leader of the UAE. As the 16th emir of Abu Dhabi and president of the UAE, he has been the leader of the country since 2004 when he was first elected president – the second in the UAE’s history. He has served in that capacity for over 17 years.
During his time in charge, Khalifa bin Zayed has helped transform the UAE into a thriving regional power and a major business and technology hub. It was also under his administration that the UAE normalized ties with Israel in the historic Abraham Accords.
However, in 2014, he suffered a stroke and, while stable, most authority was given over to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, his half-brother, also known as MBZ.
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