Sheikh Khalifa, who has been battling illness for several years has rarely been seen in official photos or at public events for years
The President of the United Arab Emirates, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan has passed away at age 73, Emirati state news agency WAM reported on Friday.
Sheikh Khalifa was the Gulf country’s second president, serving since 2004. He is credited with helping to bring the UAE, a small desert sheikhdom of seven emirates, to global prominence and leading the country through turbulent times during the 2008 financial crisis.
The Ministry of Presidential Affairs condoles the people of the UAE, the Arab and Islamic nation, and the world over the demise of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the UAE,” a statement from state news agency WAM read.
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“The Ministry of Presidential Affairs also announced that the UAE will observe a forty-day state mourning with the flag flown at half-mast starting today, and suspend work at all ministries, departments, and federal, local, and private entities for three days,” WAM wrote in a tweet.
Sheikh Khalifa, who has been battling illness for several years has rarely been seen in official photos or at public events for years, he succeeded his father and the UAE’s founder Sheikh Zayed in 2004. He suffered a stroke a decade later, keeping him largely out of public sight ever since.
There was no immediate announcement about the successor.