Dubai — UAE’s president Sheikh Khalifah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has passed away on Friday, according to UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs.
Sheikh Khalifah was born in 1948 in Al-Ain, Abu Dhabi emirate. He was the first son of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who served as ruler of Abu Dhabi and head of the Nahyan dynasty from 1966 to 2004, and as president of UAE from 1971 to 2004.
Khalifah was raised in Al-Ain, and became his father’s official representative to the region when the latter became emir in 1966.
He became instrumental in developing UAE by using its vast oil wealth and encouraged private investment from Abu Dhabi’s citizens through loan programs.
In 2014, Khalifah had a stroke, and since then he has mostly played a ceremonial role while responsibilities for the day-to-day affairs of Abu Dhabi and UAE were upon his brothers namely, crown prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
