A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on 5 January 2021 shows Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah attending the opening session of the 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in the northwestern Saudi city of al-Ula.
- The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh
Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, has died at the age of 86 after three years in power. - 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. - Kuwait is a conservative
country where sovereign powers remain concentrated in the hands of the ruling
Al Sabah family.
The
emir of oil-rich Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, died on Saturday, 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 aired on Kuwaiti
state television.
State
television had cut its regular programming and switched to a broadcast of a 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 illness. He was later declared in stable condition.
Given
his age, his health has commonly 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 economy 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 ruler
is brought in by the family.
Kuwait
– a conservative country where sovereign powers remain 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 installed by
the ruling family have stymied development efforts and scared off investors.
Following
a succession of resigning governments and dissolved parliaments, Kuwait’s
current 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
population disgruntled.
Born
in 1937, Sheikh Nawaf was the fifth son of Kuwait’s late ruler 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 remained until 1978 when he started a decade as interior minister.
