United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan passed away on Friday, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced. The 73 year old emirates president was also the ruler of Abu Dhabi.
“The Ministry of Presidential Affairs mourns to the UAE people, Arab and Islamic nations and the world the death of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who passed away on Friday, 13th May, 2022, wishing Allah Almighty grant him eternal peace and the UAE people patience and solace,” a statement issued by Emirates News Agency WAM said.
The ministry has announced that UAE will observe a forty-day national mourning with the flag flown at half-mast starting today. Moreover, work will be suspended at all ministries, departments, and federal, local and private entities for three days.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan had been serving as the president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi since November 3, 2004. He had succeeded his father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of UAE, who had become to president after the formation of UAE in 1973 and remained in the post till his death on 2 November 2004.
Sheikh Khalifa was born in 1948, and was the eldest son of Sheikh Zayed. Even before becoming the president, he was handling several presidential duties as the crown prince since late 1990s, as his father was facing health problems.
He is considered one of the richest monarchs in the world, and was the richest emirate in the UAE. His net worth is estimated to be over $18 billion, most of which comes from his investments in the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi where Khalifa was the president. He also controlled 97.8 billion barrels of oil reserves. The Al Nahyan family is believed to hold a fortune of $150 billion.
It is noteworthy that world’s tallest building Burj Khalifa in Dubai was named after the late UAE president. The skyscraper was originally named Burj Dubai, but after Abu Dhabi and the federal government of UAE lent Dubai 10 billion US dollars to pay off its debts, the structure was renamed as Burj Khalifa in honour of the UAE president.