Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah: Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah died at age 91
Kuwait's Emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, has died at the age of 91, state media report.
Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the ruler of Kuwait who drew on his decades as the oil-rich nation’s top diplomat to push for closer ties to Iraq after the 1990 Gulf War and solutions to other regional crises, died Tuesday. He was 91.
He was expected to be succeeded by his 83-year-old half-brother and crown prince, Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed.
In July, Sheikh Sabah was flown to the United States for medical treatment following surgery for an unspecified condition in Kuwait.
He had ruled the oil-rich Gulf Arab state since 2006 and had overseen its foreign policy for more than 50 years.
He was dubbed the "dean of Arab diplomacy" for his efforts to restore relations with states that backed Iraq during the 1990-1991 Gulf War, when Kuwait was invaded by Iraqi forces.
In a Middle East replete with elderly rulers, Sheikh Sabah stood out for his efforts at pushing for diplomacy to resolve a bitter dispute between Qatar and other Arab nations that continues to this day.
His 2006 ascension in Kuwait, a staunch U.S. ally since the American-led war that expelled occupying Iraqi troops, came after parliament voted unanimously to oust his predecessor, the ailing Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, just nine days into his rule.
The emir also often acted as a mediator in regional disputes, including the ongoing diplomatic stand-off between Saudi Arabia, its allies and Qatar.
Kuwait also refrained from intervening in Syria's civil war, instead hosting several donor conferences for humanitarian aid.
Sheikh Sabah came to power in January 2006, after Emir Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah stepped down just nine days into his rule as parliament moved to depose him on health grounds.
He had been prime minister under the previous Emir, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and for several years had been seen as the de facto ruler.
Before then, he served as foreign minister from 1963 to 1991 and from 1992 to 2003.
Kuwait - which has a population of 4.8 million, including 3.4 million foreign workers - has the world's sixth-largest known oil reserves and is a major US ally.
It has been ruled by the Sabah family for the past 260 years.
Kuwait's parliament has the most powers of any elected body in the Gulf and opposition MPs openly criticise the Sabahs.
Yet as Kuwait’s ruling emir, he struggled with internal political disputes, the fallout of the 2011 Arab Spring protests and seesawing crude oil prices that chewed into a national budget providing cradle-to-grave subsidies.
“He represents the older generation of Gulf leaders who valued discretion and moderation and the importance of personal ties amongst fellow monarchs,” said Kristin Diwan, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington who studies Kuwait. “No question he has suffered from the lack of deference and respect shown by the younger and more brash young princes holding power today.”
The energy-dependent monarchy, whose 1.4 million citizens are among the world’s wealthiest by average per capita income, is home to about 8.5% of global oil reserves, according to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Oil and gas account for about 40% of Kuwait’s economic output and more than 90% of export revenues.
State television announced his death after playing Quranic prayers, with Royal Court Minister Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al Sabah reading a brief statement, his hands shaking.
“With great sadness and sorrow, the Kuwaiti people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the friendly peoples of the world mourn the death of the late His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, emir of the state of Kuwait who moved to the realm of the Lord,” the sheikh said, without offering a cause of death.
However, the ruling family retains full control over key government and executive posts and the emir has the last say in political matters. He also has the power to override or dissolve parliament, and call elections.
In 1962, he became minister for guidance and information, a year before being appointed foreign minister, a post he held until he became prime minister in 2003. In the 1970s and ’80s, he was information minister, in addition to foreign minister and deputy prime minister from 1978.
Sheikh Sabah was named emir in 2006. Even before that, he had assumed the role of de-facto ruler when other leading family members were too ill or frail to do the job. He took the leadership mantle after Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, who was emir for nine days, was voted out of office by parliament on the grounds that he was too ill to rule.
Sheikh Sabah was a widower and is survived by three sons.
