Kuwait (AFP) – Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who died Wednesday at the age of 86, served as Emir of Kuwait for about three years, but for decades he was involved in managing the affairs of the oil-rich Gulf state ruled by the Al-Sabah family.
Published on: 12/16/2023 – 12:06 Last updated: 12/16/2023 – 14:00
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Perhaps the most prominent role of Sheikh Nawaf, who died on December 16, was assuming the Ministry of Defense when Iraqi forces led by Saddam Hussein invaded his country in 1990, before assuming the Ministry of Interior and the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Combating Terrorism when Kuwaiti security forces confronted armed Islamists in January. January 2005.
His calm and discreet style allowed him to continue his role when the country located near Iran and Iraq was rocked by recurring political crises related to the government, figures from the ruling family, and the parliament, which was dissolved several times.
Sheikh Nawaf, who enjoyed the support of the family thanks to his image as a humble politician working away from the limelight, was named Crown Prince in 2006 before succeeding in 2020 his half-brother Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who died in September of that year at the age of 91.
He had to lead his country’s economy during an economic crisis caused by the decline in oil prices and led to international agencies lowering Kuwait’s credit rating in 2020.
Shortly after his death was announced on Saturday, his half-brother Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who was 83 years old, was named Emir.
The Kuwaiti Constitution stipulates that the Emir must be a descendant of the country’s founder, Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah. Traditionally, the Al-Salem and Al-Jaber branches of the family alternated in power, but this tradition has not been repeated during the current decade, as Sheikh Sabah, Sheikh Nawaf, and Sheikh Mishal all belong to the Al-Jaber branch.
Security and economic crises
Badr Al-Saif, assistant professor of history at Kuwait University, told AFP that Sheikh Nawaf “issued many pardon decisions that made him nicknamed the Prince of Pardons.”
Last month, the Kuwaiti Cabinet approved an Amiri decree pardoning political prisoners convicted over the past decade. Similar amnesty decrees were also issued in 2021.
Badr Al-Saif added that Sheikh Nawaf “will also remain in memory for his unique qualities, as he was quiet, pious, humble, and rarely appeared.”
Sheikh Nawaf was born in 1937. He is the fifth son of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the late ruler who led Kuwait from 1921 until his death in 1950.
He continued his secondary studies in Kuwait, but did not complete his graduate studies. His experience in politics goes back about half a century when he was appointed governor of Hawalli Governorate at the age of twenty-five. He remained in that position until 1978, when he assumed the Ministry of Interior for about ten years.
In 1988, he assumed the Ministry of Defense, and led it during the seven-month Iraqi invasion, which ended with the United States’ intervention at the head of a military coalition in the First Gulf War in 1991. After the liberation of Kuwait, he was appointed to the position of Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, before assuming the position of Deputy Chief of the National Guard in the year. 1994.
Sheikh Nawaf returned to the government as Minister of Interior in 2003, and in the same year he was named Deputy Prime Minister, until he became Crown Prince three years later.
During his tenure as Ministry of Interior between 2003 and 2006, he led the security services in the process of pursuing extremist fighters, which caused the outbreak of bloody confrontations with the police in January 2005, in which two policemen, eight extremist fighters, and two civilians were killed.
Sheikh Nawaf assumed the reins of power while the world was facing the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, which led to a sharp decline in oil prices, which negatively affected the Kuwaiti economy, which largely depends on oil exports.
In a speech he delivered after taking the constitutional oath before the Kuwaiti National Assembly, he acknowledged that his country faces “dangerous challenges.”
The prince did not make radical changes in his country’s foreign policy. Kuwait maintained its hard-line stance towards Israel even after the UAE and Bahrain normalized relations with the Hebrew state in 2020. It also maintained close relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two regional rivals at the time.
Attention will quickly turn to the future due to the age of Sheikh Mishal and the divisions after the repeated resignations of Kuwait’s governments and the dissolution of its parliament. The current Kuwaiti government is the fifth in one year. Sheikh Nawaf’s term also saw the country hold three parliamentary elections.
The political stagnation led to delaying necessary reforms, obstructing development projects, infrastructure development and the education sector, in addition to discouraging investors from investing their money in the country.
© 2023 AFP
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2023-12-16 11:06:08
