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- KUWAIT CITY: The emir of oil-rich Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, died on Saturday (Dec 16), the royal court said, after three years in power. He was 86.
- “With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn … the death of Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait,” said a statement played on Kuwaiti state television.
- State television had cut its normal programming and switched to a broadcast of Koranic recital before the announcement.
- In November, Sheikh Nawaf was admitted to the hospital “due to an emergency health problem”, according to the official KUNA news agency, which did not elaborate on his sickness. He was later deemed in stable condition.
- Given his age, his health has generally been a concern during his term.
- Sheikh Nawaf was named crown prince in 2006 by his half-brother Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah and took over as emir when Sheikh Sabah died in September 2020 at the age of 91.
- He had to steer the country through a crisis caused by a fall in oil prices in 2020.
- The current crown prince, Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Sabah, another half-brother, is 83 and much attention will now be focused on whether a younger generation boss is brought in by the family.
- Kuwait – a conservative country where sovereign powers stay concentrated in the hands of the ruling Al Sabah family – is home to the most active and powerful parliament in the Gulf.
- Kuwait – a conservative country where sovereign powers stay concentrated in the hands of the ruling Al Sabah family – is home to the most active and powerful parliament in the Gulf.
- But repeated standoffs between elected lawmakers and cabinet ministers placed by the ruling family have stymied development efforts and scared off investors.
- Following a succession of resigning governments and dissolved parliaments, Kuwait’s present cabinet is its fifth in a year.
- The political deadlock has delayed necessary reforms and blocked development projects, leaving infrastructure and education in disrepair and much of the people disgruntled.
- Born in 1937, Sheikh Nawaf was the fifth son of Kuwait’s late master from 1921 to 1950 Sheikh Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.
- He started his political career at the age of 25 as governor of Hawalli province, where he stayed until 1978 when he started a decade as interior minister.
