Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, 83, has been nominated as Sheikh Nawaf’s successor. He has been Kuwait’s de facto ruler since 2021, when the elderly emir gave over most of his powers.
Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, has been confirmed dead at the age of 86.
Reuters reports that the late monarch died after he was admitted for an emergency health problem. His death came three after he came to power.
Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, 83, has been nominated as Sheikh Nawaf’s successor. He has been Kuwait’s de facto ruler since 2021, when the elderly emir gave over most of his powers.
Kuwait declared 40 days of mourning and a three-day closure of government offices.
World leaders paid tribute to Sheikh Nawaf and condoled with his successor, Sheikh Meshal, the Al Sabah family, and the Kuwaiti people.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak remarked on social networking platform X that he was heartbroken to learn of Sheikh Nawaf’s death, describing him as a great friend of the UK who would be remembered fondly.
Sheikh Nawaf, according to Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, was a smart leader who played a significant role in improving Kuwait-UAE relations.
Sheikh Nawaf succeeded his brother, Sheikh Sabah, who had reigned for more than a decade and moulded the state’s foreign policy for more than 50 years, in September 2020.
Diplomats saw Sheikh Nawaf as a consensus builder, despite his tenure being distinguished by an acrimonious standoff between the administration and the elected parliament, which stymied important structural reforms in the oil-rich Gulf kingdom. In recent months, the government and parliament have reached an agreement.
Kuwait has the world’s seventh-largest oil reserves and borders Saudi Arabia and Iraq, as well as Iran across the Gulf. Iraq attacked and captured Kuwait in 1990, initiating the first Gulf War a few months later in 1991, when the US and other nations fought Iraq and liberated Kuwait.
Sheikh Nawaf has maintained a foreign policy that balances ties with those countries since taking office in 2020, while eight governments have been created domestically under his leadership.
The crown prince immediately becomes emir under Kuwait’s constitution, although he takes authority only after swearing an oath in parliament. The new emir has a year to appoint an heir.
According to analysts and diplomats, Sheikh Nawaf and his crown prince, Sheikh Meshal, appeared to link Kuwait with regional giant Saudi Arabia.
The new emir’s choice of crown prince and premier – who would be tasked with managing the government’s often stormy relationship with parliament – will be watched closely as a younger generation of Kuwait’s ruling family jostles for position.
Such factional struggles within the Al Sabah family have often played out in parliament as contenders for succession build their own political capital and domestic base.
Before handing over most of his constitutional duties to his designated heir, Sheikh Nawaf tried to secure a detente on the domestic political scene, including by issuing an amnesty pardoning dissidents that had been long-sought by opposition figures.
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