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Wikipedia
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (Arabic: خليفة بن زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان; born 25 January 1948; referred to as Sheikh Khalifa) is the current President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and emir of Abu Dhabi. He succeeded to both posts on 3 November 2004, replacing his father Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who had died the day before. He had effectively been acting president earlier, since his father was in ill health.
He is the current chairman of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD).
Biography
[edit]1966-1971
The eldest son of Sheikh Zayed, Khalifa was appointed as Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi (the mayor) and as Head of the Courts Department in Al Ain in 1966, as his father Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan became the new ruler of Abu Dhabi. Zayed was the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region. Few months later the position was handed toTahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan[2]
On 1 February 1969, Sheikh Khalifa was nominated as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and on the next day he was appointed as the Head of the Abu Dhabi Department of Defence, in which post he oversaw the building up of the Abu Dhabi Defence Force, ADDF, which later became the nucleus of the UAE Armed Forces.
[edit]Independence in 1971
Following the establishment of the UAE in 1971, Sheikh Khalifa became the Prime Minister of Abu Dhabi (and head of Abu Dhabi Cabinet, under his father), Minister of Defense and Finance. Following the reconstruction of the Federation Cabinet including the abolishing of Abu Dhabi Cabinet and setting up of Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, he became the 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates on 23 December 1973 and Chairman of Executive Council of Abu Dhabi on 20 January 1974, under his father.
In May 1976 he became deputy commander of the UAE armed forces, under the President.
He also heads the Supreme Petroleum Council in the late 1980s (until today), which enjoys wide powers in energy matters.
He was the Chairman of the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency, ERWDA.
[edit]President (2004–)
He succeeded to both posts on 3 November 2004, replacing his father Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who had died the day before. He had effectively been acting president earlier, since his father was ill during the period prior to his passing.
On 1 December 2005, the President announced that half of the members of the Federal National Council, the closest body the country has to a parliament, will be indirectly elected. However, half of the council's members will still need to be appointed by the leaders of the emirates. The 40-member FNC serves in an advisory capacity. The elections were set to take place in December 2006.
On 4 January 2010, the world's tallest man-made structure, originally known as Burj Dubai, was renamed to Burj Khalifa, in honor of the Sheikh [1].
Sheikh Khalifa is known for his interest in sports traditional to UAE, chiefly horse and camel racing. He is generally regarded as a pro-Western modernizer. Early in his term, in April 2005, he authorized a 100% salary increase for employees of the state.
[edit]Seychelles
 | This section's factual accuracy is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. (January 2011) |
Khalifa is building a six-storey palace on the main island of the Seychelles, on the site of a former United States satellite tracking station, the 27 hectares of land were bought by Khalifa for one Seychelles rupee.[3] Sewage from the huts and shipping containers which house the hundreds of South Asian workers building the palace has polluted one of Seychelles' main rivers, and has destroyed the water supply of several villages. In November 2009, the official passport stamp of the Seychelles, a coco de mer was replaced by a square, apparently at the behest of Sheikh Khalifa, who objected to the nuts resemblance to buttocks.[4]
[edit]Philanthropy
According to Forbes, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the world's third wealthiest monarch, with an estimated wealth of US$19 billion.[5]
On 30 April 2007, Johns Hopkins Medicine announced a "magnificent" and "transformational" gift by Sheikh Khalifa,[6] most of which, made in honor of Sheikh Khalifa’s father, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was planned to support construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital’s new cardiovascular and critical care tower (also to be named after Sheikh Zayed). Additionally, some funds would be directed to cardiovascular as well as AIDS research.
He also founded the Khalifa Award for Education and finances a major housing programme in Sheikh Khalifa City (Gaza Strip).
A building in the theology department at the University of Wales is named after him, due to his being a benefactor.
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