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 biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
Sole survivors
Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood. Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues. Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity. Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
Park in shaded or covered areas
Add tint to windows
Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: AF Dars, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: AF Musannef, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
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7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: M’Y Yaromoon, Khalifa Al Neyadi, Jesus Rosales
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (PA) 1,400m; Winner: Hakeem, Jim Crowley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
