Bahrain’s long-serving Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa has died on Wednesday, November 11 at 84.
Bahrain’s state-run news agency announced his death, saying the prime minister had been receiving treatment at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, without further details.
Sheikh Khalifa is one of the world’s longest-serving prime ministers who led his island nation’s government for decades and survived the 2011 Arab Spring protests that demanded his ouster over corruption allegations.
The island kingdom’s King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa announced official mourning for a week during which flags will be flown at half-mast, the publication said.
Bahrain’s Ministry of foreign affairs confirmed his death on Twitter, saying;
By order of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Royal Court mourns His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, who passed away this morning at Mayo Clinic Hospital in the United States of America.
— وزارة الخارجية 🇧🇭 (@bahdiplomatic) November 11, 2020
The burial ceremony will take place after the arrival of his body, and will be limited to a specific number of relatives.
Born in 1935, Khalifa took oath as the country’s Prime Minister in 1970, a year before Bahrain’s independence on August 15 1971.
At the time of his death he was the longest-serving prime minister of any government in the world
May his soul rest in peace.
