Bahrain Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman al-Khalifa waits for dignitaries to arrive in Manama, on December 24, 2012, to attend the annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit. (PHOTO / MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH MOHAMMED AL-SHAIKH / AFP)

DUBAI - Bahrain’s Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al Khalifa, the world’s longest serving prime minister and a staunch ally of neighboring Saudi Arabia and the United States, has died, the royal palace announced on Wednesday.

Sheikh Khalifa, a dominant figure in the Gulf island’s politics for much of his near half century in power, passed away on Wednesday morning at Mayo Clinic hospital in the United States, Bahrain’s state news agency said.

Sheikh Khalifa, a dominant figure in the Gulf island’s politics for much of his near half century in power, passed away on Wednesday morning at Mayo Clinic hospital in the United States, Bahrain’s state news agency said

Khalifa, 84, the uncle of King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, had served as prime minister since the Sunni Muslim-led island kingdom declared independence from Britain in 1971. The al-Khalifa family has ruled since 1783.

As prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa ran daily affairs of state under the late Emir Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, who died in 1999, and under his successor King Hamad.

There was no immediate word about Sheikh Khalifa’s successor as prime minister, a role which the constitution says is appointed by the king.

Sheikh Khalifa suffered a serious heart attack in 1985. After a second heart attack in July 1988, he underwent a triple by-pass operation in the Saudi capital Riyadh. 

In August, Sheikh Khalifa left the kingdom for what official media called at the time “a private visit abroad”.

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Earlier this year he spent time in Germany for unspecified medical treatment, returning to Bahrain in March.

The burial ceremony will take place upon the repatriation of his body and the funeral will be limited to a specific number of relatives, Bahrain’s state news agency said.

Official mourning has been declared for a week and government ministries and departments will close for three days starting Thursday.

Bahrain is the home base of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.