(Kuwait) The Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, aged 83, was named the country’s new emir on Saturday following the death of his predecessor, in a context of uncertainty and dissension in the wealthy Gulf state.
“The Kuwaiti cabinet appoints Crown Prince His Highness Sheikh Meshaal as Emir of the State of Kuwait,” state television announced. It thus became the 17e ruler of the country.
His predecessor and half-brother, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, died at the age of 86 after a three-year mandate marked by repeated political conflicts at the head of this small oil-rich country, had announced the Palace in the morning.
PHOTO YASSER AL-ZAYYAT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah
The new emir, named crown prince in 2020, has spent most of his career in the field of security and intelligence.
The octogenarian thus held the position of Minister of the Interior and responsibilities in the National Guard.
He has largely stayed away from the political scene and from the dissensions within the ruling Al-Sabah family, some members of which accuse each other of corruption or conspiracy.
This father of 12 children will soon be sworn in before Parliament.
Following the death of the Emir, administrations will be closed for three days and 40 days of mourning have been declared.
PHOTO YASSER AL-ZAYYAT, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
A billboard conveys a message of condolences and a photo of Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on a commercial building in central Kuwait City on December 16.
The new emir will have one year to appoint a new crown prince, who should come from the new generation of the ruling family.
Kuwait’s Constitution states that the ruler must be a descendant of the nation’s founder, Mubarak Al-Sabah. But a tradition of alternation between the Salem and Jaber family branches has long been observed.
A former emir, Sheikh Sabah, of the Jaber branch, put an end to this tradition by appointing as crown prince Sheikh Nawaf, another Jaber, effectively ruling out the Salem branch.
Instability
Kuwait has been plunged for several years into a deep crisis between the executive and legislative powers, which is undermining hopes of reforms.
At the beginning of April, the small monarchy formed its seventh government in three years. A few days later, the now ex-emir dissolved Parliament and called new legislative elections
Boasting some of the largest oil reserves in the world, Kuwait is an extremely rich state where instability has slowed reforms and infrastructure development, like those underway in its neighbors, who are much more politically locked down, in the first including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The 4.5 million inhabitants, including 1.3 million Kuwaitis, regularly complain about the deterioration of infrastructure and public services.
Sheikh Nawaf died after being admitted to hospital in November “due to an urgent health problem”, according to the official KUNA news agency, which did not give details of his illness.
He was later listed in stable condition. Given his age, his health was often a concern during his tenure.
Sheikh Nawaf had been named crown prince in 2006 by his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and took over as emir upon the latter’s death in September 2020.
“Sheikh Nawaf will be remembered for his unique human qualities: discreet, pious, soft-spoken,” said Bader al-Saif, professor of history at Kuwait University.