Who was Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan?
On 14 May 2022 Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan passed away
at the age of 73.
Family
Khalifa was born on 7 September 1948 at Qasr Al-Muwaiji,
Al Ain, in Abu Dhabi (then part of the Trucial States), the eldest son
of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Hassa bint Mohammed bin
Khalifa Al Nahyan
Education
He was a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Crown Prince
When his father, Zayed, became Emir of Abu Dhabi in 1966,
Khalifa was appointed the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region
of Abu Dhabi and Head of the Courts Department in Al Ain. Zayed was
the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region before he became the
Emir of Abu Dhabi. A few months later the position was handed to
Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan.
On 1 February 1969, Khalifa was nominated the Crown Prince of
Abu Dhabi, and on the next day he was appointed Head of the
Abu Dhabi Department of Defense. In that post, he oversaw the
build up of the Abu Dhabi Defense Force, which after 1971 became the
core of the UAE Armed Forces.
Prime Minister
Following the establishment of the UAE in 1971, Khalifa assumed
several positions in Abu Dhabi as head of the Abu Dhabi Cabinet. After
the reconstruction of the Cabinet of the United Arab Emirates, the
Abu Dhabi Cabinet was replaced by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council,
and Khalifa became the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of the
United Arab Emirates (23 December 1973) and the Chairman of the
Executive Council of Abu Dhabi (20 January 1974).
In May 1976, he became deputy commander of the UAE Armed Forces,
under the President. He also became the head of the Supreme Petroleum
Council in the late 1980s. The post granted him wide powers in energy matters.
He was also the chairman of the Environmental Research and
Wildlife Development Agency.
As President: 2004–2022
He succeeded to the posts of Emir of Abu Dhabi and President of the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 3 November 2004, replacing his father
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who had died the day before. He had been
acting president since his father became ill prior to his passing.
On 1 December 2005, the President announced that half of the members
of the Federal National Council (FNC), an assembly that advises the president,
would be indirectly elected. Half of the council's members were still appointed
by the leaders of the emirates.
In 2009, Khalifa was re-elected as President for a second five-year term.
In 2010, Khalifa was described in a WikiLeaks cable signed by then
U.S. ambassador Richard G. Olson as a "distant and uncharismatic personage."
The cable said that Khalifa had risked his reputation and the UAE’s future
since 1990, when he described the United States as willing to shed blood to
maintain international order and stability in the Gulf.
In March 2011, Khalifa sent the United Arab Emirates Air Force to support
the military intervention in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi, alongside
forces from NATO, Qatar, Sweden, and Jordan.
Khalifa pledged the full support of the UAE to the Bahraini regime in the
face of pro-democracy uprising in 2011.
Later that year Khalifa was ranked as the world's fourth-wealthiest monarch,
with a fortune estimated to be worth $15 billion.
In 2013, he commissioned Azzam, the longest motor yacht ever built at 590
ft (180 m) long, with costs between $400–600 million.
In fall 2011, the Emirates initiated a program to promote "allegiance"
to Khalifa and other Emirati leaders. The program continues, and
encourages not only Emirati nationals, but residents from any nationality
to register their "appreciation, recognition, and loyalty" to the Emirs.
In January 2014, Khalifa had a stroke and was reported to have been
in a stable condition after undergoing an operation.
In April 2016, Sheikh Khalifa was named in the Panama Papers
by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; he reportedly
owned luxury properties in London worth more than $1.7 billion via shell
companies that Mossack Fonseca set up and administers for him in the
British Virgin Islands
During his presidency in February 2022, the UAE signed partnership
agreements with Israel on tourism and healthcare.
Love and Marriage
He was married to Shamsa bint Suhail Al Mazrouei, and had eight children:
Sultan, Mohammed, Shamma, Salama, Osha, Sheikha, Lateefa, and Mouza.
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Death
Sheikh Khalifa died on 13 May 2022 at the age of 73. He was buried at
Al Bateen Cemetery in Abu Dhabi.
The Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced a 40-day national mourning
with flags at half staff along with a three-day suspension of work in private
firms and the official entities at the federal and local levels of institution.
State mourning was also announced in many other Arab League nations.
Bahrain, Lebanon, Oman, Mauritania and Qatar declared official mourning
and flags at half-mast for three days.
In Jordan, mourning was declared for 40 days while flags will fly half-mast
in Kuwait.Pakistan announced a three-day mourning.
India also declared a period of national mourning with flags at half staff
for one day starting from 14 May 2022.
Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom relaesed a statement.
Abu Dhabi
home of the United Arab Emirates Government and the Supreme
Petroleum Council. The city is home to the President of the UAE,
who is a member of the Al Nahyan family.
massive oil and gas reserves and production and relatively high
average income, have transformed it into a large, developed metropolis.
It is the country's center of politics and industry, and a major culture
and commerce center. Abu Dhabi accounts for about two-thirds of
the roughly $400 billion UAE economy.
Other royal families
United Arab Emirates on 16 and 17 May 2022. to offer his
condolences to the new President of the United Arab Emirates and
Emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on
the death of his predecessor, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
It also has been reported that Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge is
at the United Arab Emirates.
Dickie Arbiter LVO 🇬🇧
@RoyalDickie
The Duke of Cambridge, representing The Queen, is in the United Arab
Emirates aying his respects to the family of the country’s late President,
His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan to the new President.
He flew in overnight at HM's request.
King Felipe of Spain has been to Abu Dhabi as well on 15 May 2022.
to convey condolences following the death of the country’s Emir, Sheikh
Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. However the King didn't visit his father
former King Juan Carlos of Spain during his brief stay in the country.
Other royals who will convey their condolences:
* King Hamad & Prince Salman of Bahrain
* King Abdullah of Jordan
* Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
* Prince Moulay of Morocco
Source pictures: Wikipedia
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