Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf dies

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has died at 86 after three years in power.

Authorities gave no cause of death, but announced the start of a 40-day official mourning period and a three-day closure of government departments.

“With great sadness and sorrow, we – the Kuwaiti people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the friendly peoples of the world – mourn the late His Highness the emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who passed away to his Lord today,” Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah al-Sabah, the minister of his emiri court, said in a statement aired on state television on Saturday.

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.

Kuwait’s crown prince and his half-brother, Sheikh Meshaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, now 83, was subsequently named new emir, state media reported.

Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in in September 2020 after the death of his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, in the United States at the age of 91.

He had to steer the economy through a crisis caused by a fall in oil prices in 2020.

Born in 1937, Sheikh Nawaf was the fifth son of Kuwait's late ruler from 1921 to 1950 Sheikh Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

He started his political career at the age of 25 as governor of Hawalli province, where he remained until 1978 when he started a decade as interior minister.

Source: Agencies