The life of Sheikh Khalifa leaves an indelible signature globally with his visionary changes that transformed UAE.
Globe Mourns Along
Sheikh Khalifa, President of the United Arab Emirates, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, and the supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces was not an ordinary ruler, his changes were transformative which was why when he passed away on Friday, May 13th, the globe grieved along with condolences pouring in. The government of UAE announced that government offices and private businesses would close for three days beginning Friday and that a 40-day mourning period would be observed across the country.
The Government of India declared a day’s state mourning on May 14 across the country where on the day of mourning, the national flag will be flown at half-mast on all buildings where it is flown regularly and there will be no official entertainment.
Sheikh Khalifa, bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was born in September 1948 and died on 13 May 2022. Reportedly, he had been ailing for a long time and died on Friday at the age of 73. He was the eldest son of the UAE’s founder President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. His death was reported by the state-run Emirates News Agency with no real cause for his death publically shared. Sheikh Khalifa had a stroke in 2014 and subsequently stepped back from many of his public duties.
Unusual Leader
Sheikh Khalifa was an incredible visionary leader who brought the United Arab Emirates and Abu Dhabi quick economic growth.
Sheikh Khalifa maintained the most extensive and wealthiest of the seven sheikhdoms that comprise the UAE. According to business publication Forbes, he controls 97.8 billion barrels of reserves (oil) and runs one of the biggest sovereign wealth funds, with reported assets of $830 billion.
Interestingly, his name, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan is known to have a connection with the world’s tallest building – the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The name of the tower was switched from the Burj Dubai to Burj Khalifa in 2010 in a display of appreciation towards Sheikh Khalifa, whose oil-rich emirate helped bail Dubai out during an economic emergency.
The Life of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the President of the United Arab Emirates, the ruler of Abu Dhabi, and the supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces from 2004 to 2022. He was also the Chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council from the late 1980s.
When his father Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan faced health problems, Khalifa carried out some parts of the presidency in a de facto capacity from the late 1990s. He succeeded his father as the emir of Abu Dhabi on 2 November 2004 and the presidency of the United Arab Emirates the following day.
During his reign, he was considered one of the richest monarchs in the world. He controlled 97.8 billion barrels of oil reserves and was chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority which oversees $875 billion in assets, the largest amount managed by a nation’s head of state in the world.
Collectively, the Al Nahyan family is believed to hold a fortune of $150 billion. On 4 January 2010, the world’s tallest man-made structure, originally known as Burj Dubai, was renamed the Burj Khalifa in his honour, after Abu Dhabi gave Dubai $10 billion to help pay off debts. In 2018, Forbes named Khalifa on its list of the world’s most powerful people.
In January 2014, Khalifa had a stroke and was in a stable condition after surgery. He then assumed a lower profile in state affairs but retained ceremonial presidential powers. His half-brother Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan carried out public affairs of the state and day-to-day decision-making of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Succeeding his father, UAE Founding Father the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Sheikh Khalifa oversaw many moments of historic progress in the Emirates.
Some Highlights in Sheikh Khalifa’s Life
In 1948, Sheikh Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed’s first son, was born in Al Muwaiji Fort, Al Ain. He is educated in the first local school founded by his father.
At the age of 18 in 1966, Sheikh Khalifa was appointed Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region. In 1969, Sheikh Khalifa was anointed as Crown Prince and shifted to Abu Dhabi to take command of the emirate’s newly formed army.
After building the foundation of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa was appointed Deputy Prime Minister in the first federal Cabinet in 1971. His life full of accomplishments again achieved great heights when on July 15, 1971, he launched the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to help developing countries with assistance in the form of concessionary loans, development grants and equity participation.
The Executive Council replaced the local cabinet as executive authority for the local government of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Khalifa is named its first president in 1974 and once again in 1976, Sheikh Khalifa was elevated to Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Sheikh Khalifa’s role was key in the foundation of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority “to invest funds on behalf of the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi to make available the necessary financial resources to secure and maintain the future welfare of the emirate”. which helped to generate wealth.
Sheikh Khalifa, a creative leader brought speedy economic growth by establishing the Khalifa Housing Fund to finance the construction of residential and commercial buildings for residents at low cost. He is credited with kick-starting the construction boom in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Khalifa set up the Abu Dhabi Department of Social Services and Commercial Buildings, popularly known as The Sheikh Khalifa Committee in 1981 in order to give loans to nationals for construction projects. More than Dh35 billion has been loaned, enabling the construction of more than 6,000 multi-storey buildings in the Emirate.
A great military step was taken on December 1, 1985, when Sheikh Khalifa declared that the UAE would build a new naval base to “ensure sovereignty over territorial waters, protect our coasts of some 400 nautical miles and preserve our national resources, much of which are located offshore in the Gulf”.
Sheikh Khalifa Loomed Larger Than Life
In the Emirates, while Sheikh Khalifa rarely appeared in public, his presence felt all over UEA was overpowering, with his pictures on the walls in government offices, hotels and other places. After his stroke, he stepped back from the daily affairs of government, delegating power to his younger half brother, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nayhan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, who advocated a more forceful foreign policy.
It was greatly anticipated that Sheikh Mohammed would succeed Sheikh Khalifa as the Emirates’ new ruler, but no information about the formal succession process was immediately available.