The royal court has announced the passing on of the 84-year old Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s Prime Minister, today. He served as Prime Minister since 1971, as is regarded as the longest-serving Prime Minister of any government across the globe.
Hamad bin Isa bin Salman, king of Bahrain, mourned his uncle, the late premier, who passed away on Wednesday morning at Mayo Clinic hospital in the United States of Minnesota.
The late premier, Khalifa, had served as prime minister for almost half a century since the Sunni Muslim-led island kingdom declared independence from Britain in 1971,
His response to pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in 2011 and his condemnation of similar unrest across the Arab world marked the defining characteristic of his career, namely a stalwart defense of the dynastic rule.
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He, however, spent time in Germany earlier this year, for unstated medical treatment, before returning to Bahrain in March.
An official mourning has been declared for a week and work at government ministries and departments will be suspended for about three days starting from Thursday.
It was also revealed that the burial ceremony will begin upon the repatriation of his body, but the funeral will be restricted to only a specified number of relatives.
Photo Credit: ConchoValley