Sheikh Khalifa passes away; UAE announces 40-day mourning
UAE national flag flies at half-staff after the announcement of Sheikh Khalifa's death in Dubai on Friday. AP
The ministry also announced that the UAE will observe a forty-day state mourning with the flag flown at half-mast starting from today (Friday).
The authorities said, "The UAE will observe a forty-day state mourning with the flag flown at half-mast starting today, the ministry announced, adding that work will be suspended at all ministries, departments, and federal, local and private entities for three days, starting Saturday, 14th May, with work to resume on Tuesday, 17th May."
Sheikh Khalifa was born in Al Muwaiji Fort in Al Ain in 1948. His full name is Khalifa Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Bin Zayed Bin Khalifa Bin Shakhbout Bin Theyab Bin Issa Bin Nahyan Bin Falah Bin Yas.
He is the eldest son of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
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His mother is Sheikha Hessa Bint Mohammed Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Al Muwaiji village was a centre of influence for the Al bu Falah subsection of the Bani Yas tribal confederation and the Al Nahyan ruling family.
Sheikh Khalifa belongs to the tribe of Bani Yas. Bani Yas is considered the mother tribe for most of the Arab tribes that settled in what is known today as the United Arab Emirates, which is historically known as 'Bani Yas Alliance'.
Sheikh Khalifa lived with his family Al Muwaiji Fort in Al Ain city. He received his school education in Al Ain at the city's first school built by his father.
Sheikh Khalifa spent most of his childhood in the oases of Al Ain and Al Buraimi with the company of his father who governed the Al Ain region at that time.
Sheikh Zayed was keen to take his eldest son on most of his daily activities and visits in the areas of Al Ain and Al Buraimi. The oases of Al Ain and Al Buraimi were places of strategic and vital economic significance for Abu Dhabi as the main agricultural producer and as the major strategic centre for the security of the region.
Accompanying his father in his difficult task to improve the lives of the tribes of the area and establish state authority, Sheikh Khalifa learned the essential values of responsibility, trust, justice and rights.
He was also fortunate to have the benefit of the education of public majlis, which was regarded as the finest school for teaching the skills of political leadership at that time. The public majlis of his father brought him close to the tribes, giving him the opportunity to learn their culture and understand their aspirations and acquire management and communication skills.
