His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah – The 16th Amir of the State of Kuwait
On Wednesday, a special session of the National Assembly met to officially appoint His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah as the 16th Amir of the State of Kuwait. Earlier, the National Assembly Speaker, Marzouq Al Ghanim, had revealed that the National Assembly would hold a special session at 11am, during which Sheikh Nawaf would take the constitutional oath in accordance with Article 60 of the Kuwaiti constitution.
His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was named as Amir of Kuwait on 29 September, following the demise of late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who passed away in the United States at the age of 91 on Tuesday.
In a statement read on state television, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh, on behalf of the Cabinet, stated: “Pursuant to the provisions of the constitution… the cabinet calls upon the Crown Prince, Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, as the Amir of the State of Kuwait.” The statement added that the Cabinet prays for the success of the new ruler in his efforts to ensure the security and growth of the country.
His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad, 83, was temporarily given some of Amir’s constitutional duties on 18 July when the late Amir was admitted to hospital in Kuwait for medical treatment. On 23 July, when the late Amir left Kuwait for post-operative medical care in the United States, Sheikh Nawaf was appointed as Deputy Amir, based on the constitutional provision which states that in the absence of the Amir, the crown prince is appointed as acting ruler.
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His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah was born on 25 June, 1937, as a half-brother to the late Amir and the fourth son of the tenth Ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah who ruled Kuwait from 1921 to 1950. Growing up in Dasman Palace, Sheikh Nawaf, following his secondary education in Kuwait, left Kuwait to attend university in the United Kingdom.
On his return to Kuwait, the young prince joined in the service of his country. The new Amir is one of the longest serving members of the Al-Sabah family in the government, with a history of over 58 years of service to the nation. On 21 February, 1962, at the very young age of 25, he was appointed as governor of Hawally, a role he would continue to hold for the next 16 years.
In 1978, he was for the first time inducted into the Cabinet headed by then Prime Minister Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, as the country’s Minister of Interior. He continued to hold on to this post through consecutive Cabinets until 1988. During his ten-year tenure heading the interior ministry, he brought about various significant reforms aimed at transforming Kuwait’s police force into an efficient and modern security apparatus.
On 26 January 1988, he was appointed as Minister of Defense and he continued in that role until the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. Following the liberation of Kuwait in February 1991, Sheikh Nawaf was appointed as the acting Minister of Labor and Social Affairs for a relatively brief period of over a year. In 1994, he was appointed as Deputy Chief of the Kuwait National Guard under the leadership of Sheikh Salem Al Ali Al Sabah, Chief of the National Guard. Sheikh Nawaf held this strategically important post for the next nine years bringing about changes to the form and functioning of the 26,000 strong independent paramilitary force.
In 2003, Sheikh Nawaf was once again inducted to the Cabinet headed by Sheikh Sabha Al Ahmad Al Sabah, as the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. In 2006, following the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah coming to the leadership of Kuwait, an Amiri Decree was issued on 7 February to officially designate Sheikh Nawaf as the Crown Prince of Kuwait.
Throughout his career in the service of the nation, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah has played a vital role in supporting programs that strengthen national unity and enhance cooperation among the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the wider Arab world. Over the years, he has been most notably a pillar of the government buttressing the country’s internal and external security, through his leadership of the interior, defense, and paramilitary forces of the state.
His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah is married to Sharifa Sulaiman Al-Jasem Al-Ghanim, the royal couple have four sons and a daughter.