Kuwait's ruling emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah dies age 86, state media announces

Kuwait’s state television has said the country’s ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died at the age of 86.

State television broke into programming with Quranic verses just before a somber official made the announcement. Authorities gave no cause of death.

“With great sadness and sorrow, we - the Kuwaiti people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the friendly peoples of the world - mourn the late His Highness the emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who passed away to his Lord today,” Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al Sabah, the minister of his emiri court, read the brief statement.

Kuwait's deputy ruler and his half-brother, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, now 83, is believed to be the world’s oldest crown prince. He is in line to take over as Kuwait’s ruler.

Rishi Sunak has paid tribute to Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah as a “great friend” to the UK, following the death of Kuwait’s ruling emir.

The prime minister said: “I am saddened to hear of the death of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

“His Highness was a great friend of the UK and we will remember fondly all he did for our bilateral relationship and his work to promote stability in the Middle East.

“I offer my sincere condolences to the Al Sabah family and people of Kuwait.”

In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was rushed to hospital for an unspecified 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 traveled to the United States for unspecified medical checks in March 2021.

The health of Kuwait’s leaders remains a sensitive matter in the Middle Eastern nation bordering Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which has seen internal power struggles behind palace doors.

Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in as emir following the 2020 death of his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

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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 wasn’t 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 Nawaf’s term had been focused on domestic issues as struggles through political disputes - including the overhaul of Kuwait’s welfare system - which prevented the sheikhdom from taking on debt.

In 2021, Sheikh Nawaf issued a long-awaited amnesty decree, pardoning and reducing the sentences of nearly three dozen Kuwaiti dissidents in a move aimed at defusing a major government standoff.

Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council states, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, restored ties after years of a boycott of Doha, easing regional tensions and allowing Sheikh Nawaf to focus on issues at home.

Kuwait, a nation home to some 4.2 million people which is slightly smaller than the US state of New Jersey, 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 some 13,500 American troops in the country, as well as the forward headquarters of the US Army in the Middle East.