<article><p class="lead">Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, president of the UAE, has died aged 73, state news agency WAM said on 13 May.</p><p>A 40 day period of official mourning has begun, starting with a three-day closure of ministries and official entities at federal and local levels, and in the private sector.</p><p>Khalifa served as the president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi since November 2004, when he succeeded his father and founder of the nation, Sheikh Zayed al-Nahyan. He presided over a major restructuring of the federal government and of the government of Abu Dhabi, and steered development of the oil and gas sector and downstream industries.</p><p>His role had been largely ceremonial since he suffered a stroke in 2014. Since then Khalifa's brother, Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed, has been widely seen as the UAE's de-facto leader, handling day-to-day affairs of the Mideast Gulf state. He is in line to become the nation's third president.</p><p class="bylines">By Bachar Halabi</p></article>
