Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who during his 18 years as head of state mobilized the UAE’s oil wealth to develop the Persian Gulf nation into an economic powerhouse and a close partner of the United States, died on Friday. He was 73.
His death was reported by state news agency Emirates. No reason was given. Sheikh Khalifa suffered a stroke in 2014 and subsequently resigned from many of his public duties. The government announced government offices and private businesses would be closed for three days from Friday and a 40-day mourning period would be observed across the country.
Sheikh Khalifa became ruler of the UAE, a federation of seven semi-autonomous city-states along the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, upon the death of his father in 2004. His tenure was marked by rapid economic development, only marred by a debt crisis in the glitzy metropolis of Dubai in the late 2000s, which he helped end by pouring billions of dollars out of the wealthier emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Dubai thanked him by naming the world’s tallest building after him, changing its name from Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa.
His reign was also punctuated by turmoil in the Middle East. During the uprisings known as the Arab Spring that swept across the region in 2011, his government intervened behind the scenes to support strongmen and undermine political Islamists. Its military has worked closely with the United States in Afghanistan, joined the coalition against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, and joined forces with Saudi Arabia in its 2015 military intervention against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
During his tenure, the Emirates and neighboring Bahrain established formal diplomatic ties with Israel in 2020, the first Arab states to normalize ties with the Jewish state in nearly three decades.
In the Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa was a towering if remote figure who rarely appeared in public, but whose image could be seen everywhere: on the walls of government offices, behind reception desks in hotels. In addition to being the Emir of Abu Dhabi, he was also the country’s president and head of the armed forces, the investment fund and the Petroleum Council, which oversees oil policy.
After his stroke, he retired from the day-to-day affairs of government, delegating power to his younger half-brother, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nayhan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, who advocated for a more assertive foreign policy.
It was widely expected that Sheikh Mohammed would succeed Sheikh Khalifa as the new ruler of the Emirates, but no information on the formal succession process was initially available.
in one post on twitterSheikh Mohammed said the Emiratis were “united in sorrow” at the loss of a “brother and mentor”.
“We have been blessed by your strength, wisdom and guidance,” he wrote.
In a statement, President Biden called Sheikh Khalifa “a true partner and friend of the United States” and said the US government will “honor his memory by continuing to strengthen the long-standing relationship between the governments and people of the United States and the United States.” United Arab Emirates.”
Like other oil-rich monarchies in the Persian Gulf, the Emirates have long looked to the United States for protection from external threats as well as a place to buy expensive military equipment.
But tensions between the two countries have risen this year over the Emirates’ resistance to joining Western efforts to isolate Russian President Vladimir V. Putin over his invasion of Ukraine. Relations are also sour in the Emirates that the United States is not doing enough to ensure the safety of its Gulf partners, particularly from Iran and its armed proxies.
Sheikh Khalifa was born in 1948 in the oasis of Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. He was the first son of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who would become the first ruler of the Emirates after independence, and Hassa bint Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan.
At that time, Abu Dhabi belonged to a collection of Arab sheikhdoms in south-eastern Arabia that had signed protection treaties with the British. Sheikh Khalifa studied at the British Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst.
In 1966, the British installed his father as ruler of Abu Dhabi in a bloodless coup against Sheikh Zayed’s older brother.
Sheikh Khalifa returned to Abu Dhabi from the UK to work under his father and his role grew after the Emirates became independent in 1971 and his father became head of state. Sheikh Khalifa headed the Petroleum Council, which oversaw oil policy, a key post in a desert country with few resources other than hydrocarbons.
He also oversaw the country’s armed forces and sovereign wealth fund, which grew to an estimated $700 billion, becoming one of the largest in the world.
His father died in 2004 and the next day Sheikh Khalifa succeeded him as Ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the Emirates, positions he held until his death.
His personal wealth is said to have been enormous. In 2011, Forbes reported that he was worth $15 billion, making him one of the richest monarchs in the world. In 2018, the magazine placed him 43rd on its list of the most powerful people in the world.
Sheikh Khalifa is survived by his wife Shamsa bint Suhail Al Mazrouei, their eight children and an unknown number of grandchildren.
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