Kuwait has announced the passing on of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, aged 86.
Kuwait TV broke into programming with verses from the Qur’anbefore making the announcement on Saturday. In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was taken to hospital for an unclear illness. In the time since, the tiny, oil-rich nation had been waiting for news about his health.
State-run news previously reported that he travelled to the United States for unspecified medical checks in March 2021.
His health status had been a sensitive matter in the Middle Eastern nation bordering Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which has had internal power struggles behind palace doors.
Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in as emir after the 2020 death of his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. The breadth and depth of emotion over the loss of Sheikh Sabah, known for his diplomacy and peacemaking, was felt across the region.
Sheikh Nawaf previously served as Kuwait’s interior and defence minister but was not seen as particularly active in government outside those terms. However, he was largely an uncontroversial choice for emir, though his advancing age led analysts to suggest his tenure would be short.
Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber, who is 83 and believed to be the world’s oldest crown prince, is in line to take over as Kuwait’s ruler.
Kuwait, which has a population of 4.2 million people, has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves. It has been a staunch US ally since the 1991 Gulf War expelled the occupying Iraqi forces of Saddam Hussein.
Kuwait hosts 13,500 American troops in the country, as well as the forward headquarters of the US army in the Middle East.
