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.
Issued on:
1 min
“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 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.
Read moreReligion and politics in the Middle East: Is Kuwait showing the way ahead?
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,…
Source : france24
