Between 2004 and 2022, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan served as president of the United Arab Emirates, emir of Abu Dhabi, and supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

From the late 1980s to the present, he served as chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council.

When his father, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, suffered health issues in the late 1990s, Khalifa assumed several functions of the presidency in a de facto capacity as crown prince.

On November 2, 2004, he took over as emir of Abu Dhabi and the presidency of the United Arab Emirates from his father.

He was one of the world’s wealthiest kings throughout his reign.

He was chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which oversees $875 billion in assets, the greatest amount managed by a nation’s head of state in the world, and he oversaw 97.8 billion barrels of oil reserves.

The Al Nahyan family is estimated to be worth $150 billion collectively.

After Abu Dhabi paid Dubai $10 billion to help pay off debts, the world’s tallest man-made structure, formerly known as Burj Dubai, was renamed the Burj Khalifa in his honor on January 4, 2010.

Khalifa was listed on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people in 2018.

Khalifa suffered a stroke in January 2014, but his condition was stable.

He then took a smaller profile in state matters, but he kept his ceremonial presidency.

Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, his half-brother, was in charge of the state’s public affairs and day-to-day decision-making in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.  Khalifa passed away on May 13, 2022.

How Did Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Die?

After battling an illness, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan died on May 13th, 2022 at the age of 73.