In Kuwait, 83-year-old Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah has been appointed as the new emir. He succeeds Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who died on Saturday at the age of 86, the royal court announced. Sheikh Meshal had led the country since 2021, when the vulnerable emir handed over most of his duties.
Kuwait announced 40 days of mourning and a three-day shutdown of authorities. World leaders paid tribute to Sheikh Nawaf and extended their condolences to his successor, Sheikh Meshal, the Al Sabah family and the Kuwaiti people.
The cause of death was not initially announced. The emir was hospitalized at the end of November. The state news agency spoke at the time of an urgent health problem.
Disputes characterized his term of office
Sheikh Nawaf became emir in September 2020 after the death of his brother, Sheikh Sabah, who had ruled for more than a decade. He was seen by diplomats as a politician capable of reaching consensus and making compromises with neighboring countries. In domestic politics, his term was marked by a heated dispute between the government and parliament. The reason at the time was structural reforms.
Under the Kuwaiti constitution, the crown prince automatically becomes emir, but he only takes power after taking an oath in parliament. The new emir’s choice of crown prince and prime minister will be closely watched, given the demands of the younger generation of the ruling family. Factional fighting has often occurred within the Al Sabah family in parliament as they sought to consolidate their claims to power there.
Domestic political unrest in Kuwait
The late emir had tried to ease the domestic political situation by, among other things, issuing a decree pardoning dissidents. However, disputes continued, prompting Sheikh Meshal to dissolve parliament this year and call early elections in June.
Kuwait bans parliamentary parties but remains one of the region’s most politically liberal states, with a vibrant political scene and the region’s most powerful elected legislative assembly, which includes Sunnis, Shiites, liberals and Islamists.
Kuwait, which has the world’s seventh largest oil reserves, borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq and is across the Gulf from Iran. It was invaded and occupied by Iraq in 1990. This led to the first Gulf War a few months later, in which the United States and other countries defeated Iraq and liberated Kuwait.
Source: Krone
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