BREAKING NEWS: UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan dies at 73

On Friday, May, 13, the Emirates News Agency announced the death of United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

According to state news agency WAM, the UAE stated: “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.”

Following the death of President Khalifa, the United Arab Emirates  will now reportedly enter a mourning period lasting 40 days.

 Sheikh Khalifa was born in 1948 and began serving as the second president of UAE following the death of his father.

Khalifa was amongst the richest monarchs in the world, controlling an estimated 97.8 billion barrels of oil reserves as chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

On January, 4, 2010, the Burj Dubai, which is currently the tallest man made structure in the world, was renamed as the Burj Khalifa in his honour, following a payment he made to Dubai of $10 billion to assist in the payment of the nation’s debts.

President Khalifa suffered a stroke in January, 2014, leading him to take on a lesser role in state affairs in recent years, with his half-brother Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan carrying out most public affairs duties.

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