Sheikh Khalifa served as the UAE's second President for almost two decades.
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.
Here, The National takes a look at the key moments in the life of Sheikh Khalifa.
1946: Sheikh Zayed settles in Al Ain after being made Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region.
1948: Sheikh Khalifa, Sheikh Zayed’s first son, is born in Al Muwaiji fort, Al Ain. He is educated in the first local school established by his father.
1966: Aged 18, Sheikh Khalifa is appointed Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region after his father becomes Ruler of Abu Dhabi and moves to the capital.
1969: Appointed Crown Prince, Sheikh Khalifa moves to Abu Dhabi to take command of the emirate’s newly formed army.
1971: Following the foundation of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa is appointed Deputy Prime Minister in the first federal Cabinet.
July 15, 1971: Sheikh Khalifa launches the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to help developing countries with assistance in the form of concessionary loans, developments grants and equity participation.
1974: The Executive Council replaces local Cabinet as executive authority for local government of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Khalifa is named its first president.
1976: Sheikh Khalifa is promoted to Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with special responsibility for training and equipment.
1976: Sheikh Khalifa is instrumental 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”.
1979: Sheikh Khalifa’s maternal grandfather, Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa, dies. The senior member of the Al Nahyan family taught Sheikh Khalifa much about leadership as a young man.
1979: Sheikh Khalifa establishes the Khalifa Housing Fund to finance the construction of residential and commercial buildings for nationals at low cost. He is credited with kick-starting the construction boom in Abu Dhabi.
1981: Sheikh Khalifa sets up the Abu Dhabi Department of Social Services and Commercial Buildings, popularly known as The Sheikh Khalifa Committee, to provide loans to nationals for construction projects. More than Dh35 billion has been lent, helping to create more than 6,000 multi-storey buildings in the Emirate.
December 1, 1985: Sheikh Khalifa announces the UAE is to 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”.
Late 1980s: Sheikh Khalifa becomes Chairman of the Supreme Petroleum Council.
November 1, 2004: Sheikh Khalifa is appointed as Interior Minister.
November 2, 2004: The UAE's Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, dies at 86.
November 3, 2004: The Federal Supreme Council elects Sheikh Khalifa as President of the UAE, for an initial term of five years, renewed in 2009. Sheikh Mohamed succeeds him as Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 1, 2005: Sheikh Khalifa announces that half the members of the Federal National Council will be elected.
December 2, 2005: “The years ahead require a bigger role for the Federal National Council,” Sheikh Khalifa says in his National Day address. “We will embark on a march that culminates in more participation and interaction from all the citizens of the country ... today, we stand at a threshold of a new era, whose ultimate objective is to entrench the rule of law and due process, accountability, transparency and equal opportunity.”
February 2007: Sheikh Khalifa sets out a strategic vision for the future, designed to ensure the welfare of citizens, in policy agenda issued by Abu Dhabi Executive Council. In a speech to the Federal National Council he commits the UAE government to a political system based on “consultation, justice and security", which enables all citizens – men and women – to “actively and positively participate in running their country”.
May 1, 2007: Johns Hopkins Medicine in the US announces a “transformational” financial gift from Sheikh Khalifa in memory of his father, Sheikh Zayed.
May 13, 2007: Sheikh Khalifa welcomes Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for a two-day visit to Abu Dhabi, the first by an Iranian president since 1979.
June 3, 2007: Sheikh Khalifa launches the Dh2bn Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development to develop small to medium-sized business and “to create a new generation of Emirati entrepreneurs”.
January 4, 2010: Burj Dubai, the world’s tallest building, is renamed Burj Khalifa in honour of the President.
January 25, 2014: It is announced the President has suffered a stroke and undergone surgery.
July, 2017: President Khalifa is shown receiving rulers and members of the Supreme Council at Al Bateen Palace.
May 13, 2022: State news agency Wam announces the death of President Sheikh Khalifa.
UK%20record%20temperature
%3Cp%3E38.7C%20(101.7F)%20set%20in%20Cambridge%20in%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.4-litre%2C%20twin-turbo%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E617hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E750Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh630%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
The specs
Common to all models unless otherwise stated
Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi
0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)
Power: 276hp
Torque: 392Nm
Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD
Price: TBC
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Friday’s fixture
6.15pm: Al Wahda v Hatta
6.15pm: Al Dhafra v Ajman
9pm: Al Wasl v Baniyas
9pm: Fujairah v Sharjah
.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
THREE
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Nayla%20Al%20Khaja%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Jefferson%20Hall%2C%20Faten%20Ahmed%2C%20Noura%20Alabed%2C%20Saud%20Alzarooni%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
