Bahrain’s Sheikh Khalifa, global’s longest serving high minister, dies

Bahrain’s Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa, the sector’s longest serving high minister and a staunch best friend of neighbouring Saudi Arabia and the US, has died, the royal palace introduced on Wednesday.

Sheikh Khalifa, a dominant determine within the Gulf island’s politics for far of his close to part century in energy, passed on to the great beyond on Wednesday morning at Mayo Medical institution clinic in the US, Bahrain’s state information company stated.

Khalifa, 84, the uncle of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, had served as high minister because the Sunni Muslim-led island kingdom declared independence from Britain in 1971, nearly part a century. The al-Khalifa circle of relatives has dominated since 1783.

His stern reaction to pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in 2011 — and grievance of equivalent unrest around the Arab global — underlined what for lots of was once the defining feature of his occupation, specifically a stalwart defence of dynastic rule.

In August, Sheikh Kahlifa left the dominion for what legit media known as on the time “a personal talk over with in another country”.

Previous this yr he frolicked in Germany for unspecified clinical remedy, returning to Bahrain in March.

The burial rite will happen upon the repatriation of his frame and the funeral can be restricted to a particular choice of kin, Bahrain’s state information company stated.

Authentic mourning has been declared for per week and govt ministries and departments will shut for 3 days beginning Thursday.

Bahrain is the house base of the USA Military’s 5th Fleet.