UAE President Sheikh Khalifa dies aged 73

A BU DH A BI, M AY 13 REUTERS- United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has died on Friday aged 73. The Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced the death of Khalifa, who was also ruler of the UAE’s richest emirate, Abu Dhabi, but gave no details.

Khalifa, born in 1948, had rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2014. Funeral prayers will be held on Friday, state news agency WAM said. His half-brother and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed known as MBZ is poised to become the new ruler of Abu Dhabi, which holds most of the UAE’s oil wealth.

Under the constitution, vice-president and premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, would act as president until the federal supreme council which groups the rulers of the seven emirates meets within 30 days to elect a new president.