UAE President Sheikh Khalifa dies at 73

May 17, 2022

Sheikh, president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi, died Friday aged 73, having suffered from poor health since a heart stroke in 2014.

Following nationwide prayers and a military honour guard, he was laid to rest at the Al Bateen cemetery. The Emirati Ministry of Presidential Affairs has announced a three-day suspension of work in both public and private institutions and a forty-day period of national mourning during which flags would be flown at half-mast.

Prominent dignitaries have expressed their condolences, including United States President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin, British Queen Elizabeth II, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Sheikh, also 'MBZ', inherited Abu Dhabi upon Khalifa's death, and has been unanimously elected President of the United Arab Emirates by the.