Kuwait’s ruler dies at 86 after brief reign

Unlock the Editor’s Digest free of charge

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favorite tales on this weekly publication.

Kuwait’s emir, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has died aged 86, the state information company reported on Saturday.

Sheikh Nawaf had been admitted to hospital for an emergency well being downside in late November, the place his situation had been described as secure.

His three-year rule over Kuwait, a US ally within the Gulf, was blighted by sick well being. His 83-year-old half brother, the crown prince Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad Al-Sabah who has dealt with the nation’s day-to-day affairs for the previous two years, was introduced as the subsequent emir. A brand new crown prince can be named at a later date.

However Sheikh Nawaf’s transient tenure nonetheless managed to ship insurance policies that sought to result in larger political cohesion in a rustic beset by steady parliamentary turmoil.

“He was low profile and home centered — he managed a political reset with the opposition by way of key concessions to legislature and a collection of amnesties with jailed and exiled critics,” stated Bader al-Saif, an assistant professor of historical past at Kuwait College.

“He was additionally recognized for his anti-corruption stance, together with instances towards members of his personal ruling Al-Sabah household.”

Amongst Gulf rulers, he was referred to as an easy and humble man who averted overt shows of wealth.

Oil-rich Kuwait, probably the most democratic state among the many Gulf autocracies, has been beset by rolling political battles between the elected parliament and the federal government, which is managed by the emir.

The following gridlock has restricted the nation’s skill to introduce economic reforms to wean itself off a dependence on oil exports.

Sheikh Nawaf had been emir of the Gulf state since his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah, died in 2020 in a US hospital after a protracted sickness, aged 91. Sheikh Sabah, a broadly revered regional diplomat, had dominated Kuwait for 14 years and been overseas minister for 4 many years earlier than changing into emir.

Kuwait’s line of ageing rulers contrasts with the Gulf’s youthful technology of leaders, equivalent to Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, who — unbound by parliamentary scrutiny — are pushing forward with bold diversification plans and social reforms.