UAE mourns death of President’s brother

Ministry of Presidential Affairs announces official mourning of Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan for three days.

ABU DHABI - Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, mourned Monday the death of his brother Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the representative of the UAE President.

"In the name of God the Merciful .. With hearts believing in the judgment of God, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan mourns the death of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the representative of His Highness the President of the State, who moved next to his Lord today,” The Ministry of Presidential Affairs said in a statement

The Ministry announced official mourning for three days starting from today.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed said in a tweet that “today I lost my brother and leader one of the State’s loyal men national symbols.”

“He worked with the founder late Sheikh Zayed to put the building blocks of the Union institutions and serve his people,” wrote the Crown Prince.

In 1978, Sheikh Sultan was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces five years after graduating from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in Britain. In 1988, he headed the Public Works Department in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and in 1990 he became Deputy Prime Minister.

In 1993, he founded the Emirates Heritage Club, which he presided over and in the same year established the Zayed Center for Coordination and Follow-up, in addition to establishing his own Cultural and Media Centre.