His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan (خليفة بن زايد بن سلطان آل نهيان, born 1948) is the current president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He succeeded to the post on 3 November2004, replacing his father Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, who had died the day before. He had effectively been acting president earlier, since his father was in ill health. He is also the hereditary emir and ruler of Abu Dhabi.
Following the establishment of the UAE on 2 December1971, Sheikh Khalifa became deputy prime minister of the federal state under his father, who was president. In May 1976 he became deputy commander of the UAE armed forces. He also heads the Supreme Petroleum Council, which enjoys wide powers in energy matters.
Sheikh Khalifa is known for his interest in sports traditional to UAE, chiefly horse and camel racing.
Zayed was born in 1918 and named after his grandfather, Shaikh ZayedbinKhalifaAlNahyan, who has the longest reign in the emirate's history, ruling Abu Dhabi from 1855 to 1909.
His grandfather is also known as “Zayid The Great” and “Zayed the First”, and had played a large role in forging unity between the tribes of Oman and leading the Bani Yas tribe.
On his return, Sheikh Zayed was convinced that it was urgent to develop the area in order to bridge the large gap between it and the rest of the world.
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