Al Sabah: The narrative of Kuwait's mighty royal dynasty, who have dominated the nation for three centuries:
Kuwait's official TV announced on Saturday 16 December 2023 that the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has died at the age of 86. Before his death was announced, the country's state television stopped airing its regular program and began reciting the Quran.
According to Kuwait's official news agency, he was
hospitalized late last month due to medical complications, but there was no
official word on his illness or cause of death. After his death, 40 days of
mourning was announced in Kuwait while all government offices were closed for
three days.
US President Joe Biden declared Sheikh Nawaf one of
America's important partner and true friend who worked to strengthen the
long-standing relationship between the United States and Kuwait.
Kuwait, the neighboring Gulf country of Saudi Arabia and
Iraq, has been ruled by the Al Sabah family for the past 300 years.
According to the Kuwaiti constitution, succession to the
titles of amir and Crown Prince of the country is traditionally limited to the
descendants of Mubarak Al-Sabah. The Kuwait we know today has been accompanied
by the Al-Sabah family throughout its development process.
The Al-Sabah family has more power than any elected body
in Kuwait, and members of this family rule the government and has complete
control over the administrative positions.
In the country, the amir also has the power to dissolve
the parliament and hold elections. Even the amir of Kuwait's opinion on
political matters is final, however, opposition can criticize Al-Sabah in the
Kuwaiti Parliament.
Al-Sabah: Family History:
According to Kuwaitpedia, Al-Sabah is descended from the Anja, the largest tribal group in the eastern Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf regions, the Adnani Arab tribe, descended from Anza bin Asad bin Rabi'ah bin Nazr bin Mad bin Adnan. According to the “Origin of Kuwait” a book on the history of Kuwait. Al Sabah family belongs to Bani Utbah tribe.
It is said that in the year 1710, when there was a severe
drought in Central Arabia, the Sabah migrated from there to the southern
regions and after that they tried to settle in different places, but for the
lack of water resources it could not be possible. Later, the family migrated to
northern Kuwait and there was a large amount of water. After finding this
source, this tribe settled here. This final stage of the journey is called
Atabu al-Shamal in Arabic. After settling in this part of Kuwait, Al-Sabah
began to rule the region.
According to another historical source, the Al-Sabah
family ruled Kuwait of southern Iran and Iraq before settling in the north and
also camped in different areas and then in the early on
17th century
they settled in present
day Kuwait. There a Sabah leader ruled on northern Kuwait till his death in
1762.
The Al-Sabah dynasty was actually founded by Amir Al
Sabah I Jaber Al-Sabah who ruled the country in the middle of the eighteenth
century i.e. from 1752 to 1776 and now the 17th representative of his
generation is appointed as the amir of the country. Today, Kuwait is the sixth
largest oil-rich country in the world. The total population of the country is
4.8 million, out of which 3.4 million are foreigners who live there for
employment and other reasons. Kuwait was declared a British protectorate in
1899 as a result of a threat from the Ottoman Empire. At that time only Sabah
family was the ruler of Kuwait. Kuwait gained full independence from Britain in
1961.
Sheikh Nawaf:
Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was the 16th Amir of Kuwait, who is considered not only the country but also the important as a personality of political figure of the Gulf.
Sheikh Nawaf was born on 25th June 1937 in Fariz
al-Shayukh, Kuwait City and raised in Dasman, Kuwait City. At that time, his
father Sheikh Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was in power in Kuwait. Sheikh Nawaf was
his fifth son. He married Sharifa Sulaiman Al Jassim Al Ghanim in the 1950s,
with whom he has four sons and a daughter.
Sheikh Nawaf held various political positions for 16
years and his first major position was in 1978. When he was made Home Minister.
When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, at that time he was the
defense minister of Kuwait. According to the report of Anadolu Agency, Sheikh
Nawaf
became Crown Prince in 2006 and served 14 consecutive
terms. He held this position for a year. His half-brother Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad
Al-Sabah remained amir for ten years. After his death Sheikh Nawaf became amir
on 29 September 2020. Since then, he had been leading an oil-rich country for
three years. He was called the chief diplomat of Kuwait and the Arab region.
The new Amir Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah:
After the death of Sheikh Nawaf, 83 year old Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has been named as the new amir of Kuwait. He is the cousin of Sheikh Nawaf and before becoming amir he was at the position of heir apparent . According to Reuters, when Sheikh Nawaf fell ill, in his absence, most of the amir of Kuwait According to Reuters, when Sheikh Nawaf fell ill, in his absence, most of the duties of amir of Kuwait were being performed by Sheikh Meshaal. According to the Kuwaiti Constitution and the law of succession to the throne, Amir Meshaal is the 17th ruler of the country and the fifth ruler in the history of the country, who has presented the constitution in front of the parliament. According to the website of the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshaal was born in 1940. He studied at Mubarakiya School after which he also studied in UK.
After graduation in 1960, he joined the Ministry of
Interior of Kuwait and he hold different positions. The new amir, who has
already held various positions, spent most of his life in Kuwait's security and
affairs in gathering information for intelligence agencies.
Sheikh Meshaal, played an important role in the
development of Kuwait's security and
military sectors. Sheikh Meshaal was Naib Amir before the death of his
predecessor. In one of his speeches, he addressed the Cabinet and the
Parliament
In one of his speeches, he addressed the Cabinet and the
Parliament and emphasized to establish
unity between cabinet and parliament.
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