UAE President and pro-West moderniser Khalifa dies
ABU DHABI, May 14, (Reuters) - United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a pro-Western moderniser who had aligned the Gulf Arab state closer to the United States and its allies, died on Friday.
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.
“The UAE has lost its righteous son and leader of the ' empowerment phase' and guardian of its blessed journey,” his half-brother and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed said. Mohammed, known as MbZ, has for years been the de facto ruler of the UAE, an OPEC oil producer and a major trade and tourism hub which has moved to build its political influence in the region and abroad.