Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan United Arab Emirates President has died , state news agency WAM reported on
Friday. #LatestNews #UAE #WhisperEyeNews #News
“The Ministry of Presidential Affairs condoles the people of the UAE and the Islamic world… on the passing of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on Friday, May 13,” WAM said.
The ministry announced 40 days of mourning with flags at half-mast from Friday, with work suspended in the public and private sector for the first three days.
Sheikh Khalifa took over as the UAE’s second president in November 2004, succeeding his father as the 16th ruler of Abu Dhabi.
Born in 1948, he was the second president of the country and the 16th leader of Abu Dhabi.
He had long stopped being involved in day-to-day affairs of ruling the country, with his brother, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, seen as the de-factor ruler.
Sheikh Khalifa had rarely been seen in public since 2014 when he had surgery following a stroke.
There was no immediate announcement about his successor – but Mohammed bin Zayed is in line to inherit the top post.
The world’s tallest building in Dubai is named the Burj Khalifa after the late ruler – whose oil-rich emirate helped bail Dubai out during a financial crisis.
The Abu Dhabi royal family – which was headed by Sheikh Khalifa – is said to be worth a staggering £120billion.
The Sheikh also chaired the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority which controls assets worth more than £571billion.
His brother, Sheikh Mansour, has amassed a £17billion fortune of his own, mainly thanks to his booming International Petroleum Investment Company.
Under the constitution, vice-president and premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, will act as president until the federal council meets within 30 days to elect a new president.
