2023-12-16 12:18:00
The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, died on Saturday at the age of 86, the Royal Court announced, after a three-year mandate marked by repeated political conflicts at the head of this oil-rich Gulf country. “With great sadness, we mourn the death of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait,” said a statement broadcast on Kuwaiti state television. Television had previously interrupted its programs and broadcast verses from the Koran.
The country’s crown prince, Sheikh Meshaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, aged 83, has been appointed as the country’s new emir. “The Kuwaiti cabinet appoints Crown Prince, His Highness Sheikh Meshaal, Emir of the State of Kuwait,” it was announced later this Saturday, still on state television.
In November, Sheikh Nawaf was admitted to hospital “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.
Appointed crown prince in 2006
Sheikh Nawaf was named crown prince in 2006 by his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, and took over as emir upon his death in September 2020 at the age of 91. A rich oil state in the Gulf, Kuwait has been plunged for several years into a deep crisis between the executive and legislative powers which is undermining hopes of reforms.
The current crown prince, Mechaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, half-brother of the emir, is 83 years old, and the question that now arises is whether the princely family will choose a leader younger. Kuwait, a conservative country where sovereign powers remain concentrated in the hands of the ruling al-Sabah family, is nevertheless home to the most active and powerful Parliament in the Gulf.
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