30 Unknown Things You Probably Didn't Know About Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan

26 January 2019, 2:39 pm EST By Ruby Karnick

Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the current President of the United Arab Emirates, most often referred to as the Sheikh Khalifa, is an Emirati royal politician. Here are some little to unknown facts about him:

He currently serves as the President of the United Arab Emirates, the Emir of Abu Dhabi and the Supreme Commander of the Union Defense Force.
He serves as the chairman of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, which manages $875 billion in assets. This is by far the largest amount managed by a nation's head of state in the world.
His family, the Al Nahyan family collectively is believed to hold fortune worth more than $150 billion
He succeeded his father Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan on November 2, 2004, to the throne of Emir of Abu Dhabi. He took over as the President of the Federation, the very next day.
The world's tallest man-made structure, a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at a height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft), was renamed after him as Burj Khalifa following its inauguration in the year 2010.
Sheikh halifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was born on September 7, 1948 to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikha Hassa bint Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan at Qasr Al Muwaiji, Al Ain.
His father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Father of the Nation as referred to in the UAE, was the Ruler of Abu Dhabi for around 38 years, and the first President of the Union.
His mother Sheikha Hassa bint Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, the first wife of his father, who passed away recently on January 28, 2018, was the great granddaughter of Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa, known as Zayed the First.
He is the eldest son of Sheikh Zayed and Sheikha Hassa. He has a total of 30 siblings, through his father’s seven marriages, including - Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, former Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, - Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, - Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, - Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
He graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS), commonly referred to as the Sandhurst, located in Berkshire, southwest of London. The Academy is to be the "national centre of excellence for leadership."

Sheikh Khalifa was appointed as the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi, in other terms known as the mayor in the year 1966, when his father took over as the Emir of Abu Dhabi.
He also simultaneously served as the Head of the Courts Department in Al Ain, while serving as the Ruler's Representative. He handed over the position of Ruler's Representative to Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, his half brother, after becoming the Emir of Abu Dhabi.
He was nominated as the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi on February 1, 1969 and the next day, he took over as the Head of the Abu Dhabi Department of Defense, overseeing the building up of the Abu Dhabi Defense Force.
In the year 1971, after the establishment of the UAE, he handled many roles simultaneously like Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Minister of Defense and the Head of the Abu Dhabi Cabinet.
He became the second Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, following the establishment of the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi on December 23, 1973.
Within a month, he took over as the Chairman of newly established Executive Council of Abu Dhabi, under his father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, on January 20, 1974.
He established the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, in 1976, in an effort to ensure a stable source of income, the Abu Dhabi Department of Social Services and Commercial Buildings in 1981, and also the Private Loans Authority in the year 1991.
He was appointed as the head of the Supreme Petroleum Council, a position which he has held since the late 1980s. He was also the Chairman of the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency at the same time.
He replaced his father as the emir of Abu Dhabi and the President of the United Arab Emirates, the day after his father's death, on November 3, 2004. Even before that, he has been serving as the acting President of the Union, since his father became ill.
As the President of the UAE, he announced on December 1, 2005 that half of the members of the Federal National Council (FNC) would be indirectly elected and that the other half would be appointed by the leaders of the emirates.

As the President, he is behind the successful initiatives like Khalifa Excellence Award, Khalifa Award for Education, Debt Settlement Fund, and the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.
He sent the UAE Air Force to support the military intervention in Libya against Muammar Gaddafi, alongside forces from NATO, Qatar, Sweden and Jordan, in March 2011.
The same year, he also pledged the full support of the United Arab Emirates to the Bahraini regime in the face of pro-democracy uprising.
He launched the Emirates Polio Campaign, with the aim to bring the epidemic under control. It was reported that the Gates Family, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates have joined hands to help Sheikh Khalifa in the campaign.
In the year 2010, Sheikh Khalifa was described in a WikiLeaks cable signed by the U.S. ambassador as a "distant and uncharismatic personage."
Sheikh Khalifa reportedly suffered a stroke on January 24, 2014, and had undergone an emergency surgery, following which he had rarely been seen in public.
He reportedly commissioned the longest motor yacht ever built at 590 ft (180 m) long, named Azzam in the year 2013, for a hefty sum of around $400 to $600 million.
He dedicated the year 2015, as the year of Innovation allocating over 300 billion for innovation through science and technology, the year 2016, as a year of reading, launching the Khalifa Student Empowerment Program, and the year 2017, as the year of giving, with focus on improving social responsibility, volunteering, and national pride.
A program with the aim to promote "allegiance" to Khalifa and other Emirati leaders was initiated in the fall 2011, which till date continues, not only for the Emirati nationals, but also for residents of any nationality to register their "appreciation, recognition, and loyalty" to the Emirs.
He is married to Shamsa bint Suhail Al Mazrouei since 1964 and they have eight children - Sheikh Sultan, - Sheikh Mohammed, - Sheikha Sheikha, - Sheikha Mouza, - Sheikha Osha, - Sheikha Salama, who is the wife of Sheikh Mansour bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, - Sheikha Shamma and Sheikha Latifa.