The 86-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah had been facing health problems since he was sworn in as Emir in September 2020, following the death of his predecessor, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.
Sheikh Meshal, who is 83, is now expected to succeed Sheikh Nawaf as Emir.
Career minister
Sheikh Nawaf was appointed Crown Prince in 2006 by the late Emir Sheikh Sabah. Sheikh Nawaf's nomination to the role had broken decades of Al Sabah tradition, which said the offices of Emir and Crown Prince should alternate between the Al Jaber and Al Salem branches of the ruling family.
Sheikh Sabah's predecessor, the late Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Salem, was Emir only briefly, from January 15 to January 24 2006. He abdicated moments after a vote to remove him from the National Assembly because of ill health.
Sheikh Sabah, who was prime minister at the time, was then voted as Emir by parliament in the midst of the succession crisis and used his new status to consolidate power in the Al Jaber branch, nominating Sheikh Nawaf as Crown Prince and Sheikh Nasser Mohammed Al Ahmad as prime minister.
The appointment of Sheikh Nawaf, from the Al Jaber side of the family, as Emir three years ago meant both the Emir and the Crown Prince nominated by him, Sheikh Meshal, were from the Al Jaber branch.
Sheikh Nawaf was the half-brother of his predecessor, the late Emir Sheikh Sabah, and the sixth son of the 10th Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, who ruled Kuwait from 1921 to 1950.
Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah at an inauguration ceremony for a Kuwait National Petroleum Company project. AFP
Sheikh Nawaf was born on June 25, 1937 in the Al Shuyoukh neighbourhood of Kuwait City, now the site of Al Muthanna Complex, and was raised with his brothers and half-brothers at Dasman Palace.
The late Emir held several political and ministerial positions, starting with his work as the governor of Hawalli from 1962 until 1978. During the 16 years that Sheikh Nawaf spent in that role, the village transformed from a tiny coastal village town into a commercial and residential centre marked by modern construction and economic activities, especially during the late 1970s.
He was then appointed Minister of Interior in 1978 and would spend a decade in the role. In 1988, he became minister of defence.
Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah attends the inauguration of the 2nd term of the 16th legislative session of the National Assembly, in Kuwait City, Kuwait, in October 2021. EPA
When the first government was formed after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, Sheikh Nawaf was assigned to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour. He then became deputy chief of the National Guard in 1994, before assuming the position of Minister of the Interior again in 2003 until he was nominated as Crown Prince in 2006.
His official biography by the royal court said that he studied in various Kuwaiti schools and that he had married only once, to Sharifa Sulaiman Al Jassim, and had four sons and a daughter. His eldest son, Sheikh Ahmad Al Nawaf, is now Kuwait’s Prime Minister.
During his tenure as Minister of Interior, Sheikh Nawaf participated in many meetings of interior ministers of the Gulf Arab countries, as well as in meetings of Arab interior ministers, and contributed to building security integration in the GCC and Arab world. He was known to have advocated for regional co-operation and unity.
Kuwait's Emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, on the left, at the 41st GCC meeting in AlUla, Saudi Arabia. Alongside him are Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, Emir of Qatar, Deputy Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers' Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman Sayyid Fahd bin Mahmoud Al Said, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and GCC Secretary General Dr Nayef Mubarak Al Hajraf. EPA
Tenure as Emir
During his tenure as Crown Prince, Sheikh Nawaf supported the efforts of the late Emir Sheikh Sabah as a mediator during the Gulf rift of 2017-2021 when several countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.
Kuwait, under both then-Emir Sheikh Sabah and then-Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf played a pivotal role as mediators, often travelling to both countries to mediate a final resolution to the crisis.
Sheikh Nawaf's term has been marked by disagreements between the appointed government and elected parliament which saw Kuwaitis head to the polls three times over the past three years.
Voters in Kuwait cast their ballots for a third time in as many years earlier in June, with the hope of ending prolonged deadlock between the appointed government and elected parliament after the judiciary dissolved the legislature earlier this year.
The latest general election was called by Sheikh Nawaf and his Crown Prince after they dissolved parliament for a second time during the reign due to persistent political deadlock. This saw MPs make several calls for a no-confidence vote against the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad.
In total under Sheikh Nawaf's reign, Kuwait saw seven government formations in three years due to the ongoing political rift with the National Assembly, primarily over a draft bill calling on the government to take over the consumer and personal loans of Kuwaiti citizens, at an estimated value of several billion dinars.
Sheikh Nawaf issued an Emiri decree on November 28 that led to a number of prisoners being pardoned, as well as the restoration of citizenship for opposition figures that were revoked about a decade ago.
In total this year, the Emir pardoned at least 37 people, including political figures and members of the ruling family, in a move welcomed by the government at the time as a step towards national reconciliation.
In 2021, Sheikh Nawaf issued a long-awaited amnesty decree, pardoning and reducing the sentences of nearly three dozen Kuwaiti political dissidents.
When he took the oath of office in front of the National Assembly in 2020, the late Sheikh Nawaf called on MPs to reconcile for the sake of national unity, warning that further political feuding would endanger national security.
“National unity has proven to be our strongest weapon in facing challenges, dangers and crises,” said Sheikh Nawaf at the time, calling on the public to adhere to national principles.
“The Kuwaiti people have embodied a close bond with the government and its leaders,” he said.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
If you are looking to build your long-term wealth in 2021 and beyond, the stock market is still the best place to do it as equities powered on despite the pandemic.
Investing in individual stocks is not for everyone and most private investors should stick to mutual funds and ETFs, but there are some thrilling opportunities for those who understand the risks.
Peter Garnry, head of equity strategy at Saxo Bank, says the 20 best-performing US and European stocks have delivered an average return year-to-date of 148 per cent, measured in local currency terms.
Online marketplace Etsy was the best performer with a return of 330.6 per cent, followed by communications software company Sinch (315.4 per cent), online supermarket HelloFresh (232.8 per cent) and fuel cells specialist NEL (191.7 per cent).
Mr Garnry says digital companies benefited from the lockdown, while green energy firms flew as efforts to combat climate change were ramped up, helped in part by the European Union’s green deal.
Electric car company Tesla would be on the list if it had been part of the S&P 500 Index, but it only joined on December 21. “Tesla has become one of the most valuable companies in the world this year as demand for electric vehicles has grown dramatically,” Mr Garnry says.
By contrast, the 20 worst-performing European stocks fell 54 per cent on average, with European banks hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic, while cruise liners and airline stocks suffered due to travel restrictions.
As demand for energy fell, the oil and gas industry had a tough year, too.
Mr Garnry says the biggest story this year was the “absolute crunch” in so-called value stocks, companies that trade at low valuations compared to their earnings and growth potential.
He says they are “heavily tilted towards financials, miners, energy, utilities and industrials, which have all been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic”. “The last year saw these cheap stocks become cheaper and expensive stocks have become more expensive.”
This has triggered excited talk about the “great value rotation” but Mr Garnry remains sceptical. “We need to see a breakout of interest rates combined with higher inflation before we join the crowd.”
Always remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future returns. Last year’s winners often turn out to be this year’s losers, and vice-versa.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
