Profile: UAE President Sheikh Khalifa

The Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday, Nov.3, 2004, unanimously elected Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the new president of the UAE, the official Emirates news agency WAM reported Wednesday.

Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, ruler of Abu Dhabi, is the eldest son of late President Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who died Tuesday evening at the age of 86 and was buried on Wednesday afternoon.

Following the death of his father and the country's founding president, Sheik Khalifa became Emir of Abu Dhabi Tuesday, paving the way for his succession of the father's post as UAE president.

Officially, the new president was elected during a meeting of the Supreme Council, which comprises the rulers of UAE's seven constituent emirates, at Sheikh Khalifa's palace earlier Wednesday in the presence of all the council members.

Born in 1948 in the oasis of Al-Ain, his father's hometown, Sheikh Khalifa, whose mother Sheikh Hassa bin Mohammad bin Khalifa al-Nahayan was a cousin of Sheikh Zayed, studied the Koran, the Muslim holy book.

Sheikh Khalifa has been intimately involved in the government of the seven-member federation since its formation in 1971.

After Sheikh Zayed became ruler of Abu Dhabi, Khalifa was named on Sept. 18, 1966 as the father's representative in the eastern region and head of courts there.

Less than three years later, he was named Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the head of the defense department of the emirate, coinciding with the formation of the Abu Dhabi Defense Force, which was later to form the nucleus of the UAE armed forces.

Sheikh Khalifa became Abu Dhabi's prime minister in July 1971, in addition to holding the portfolios of defense and finance in the emirate's government.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was established on Dec. 2, 1971, with his father at the helm. Sheikh Khalifa became the deputy prime minister of the new federation, which also includes Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah and Um al-Qaiwain.

In May 1976, he was named deputy commander of the UAE armed forces.

Since Abu Dhabi is the wealthiest member of the federation, which accounts for some 90 percent of the UAE's oil production, currently standing at around 2.5 million barrels per day, Sheikh Khalifa has also headed the Supreme Petroleum Council and enjoyed wide powers in energy matters.

Meanwhile, he was also chairmanship of the Arab Monetary Fund, an Abu Dhabi-based Arab League organ which helps league members close budget or balance of payments deficits and stabilize exchange rates, and represented the UAE in the Arab Organization for Military Industrialization.

Sheikh Khalifa also masterminded the creation of a social services department to improve people's living standard. Like his late father, he has maintained close links with various tribes.

Known for his interest in traditional sports, the new president is fond of horse and camel racing.

In its statement issued after the election of the new president on Wednesday, the UAE Supreme Council expressed its keen desire to be loyal to the principles of leadership and the values of justice and right laid down by late Sheikh Zayed.

The council expressed its full confidence that the people of the UAE will continue to be the guardians of the UAE federation and of its achievements at all levels, said the statement.

Thanking the council and the people, Sheikh Khalifa expressed his appreciation for the trust and confidence shown in him by his colleagues and brothers, the Rulers of the Emirates.

The new UAE president stressed that he was determined to adhere to the guidelines laid down by the founder of the UAE federation, cooperate and coordinate with his colleagues and the members of the Supreme Council to continue to foster the progress of the federation.