The Ghanaian Minaret

Kuwait City, Kuwait: Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the 16th Emir of Kuwait who died on Saturday at the age of 86, was buried on Sunday at the Sulaibikhat cemetery in Kuwait City.

After ruling for three years, the son of the 10th ruler of Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah, has been succeeded by his 83-year-old half-brother, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah.

Funeral prayers were performed for Sheikh Nawaf at Bilal bin Rabah Mosque, with a 40-day mourning period announced for the late ruler.

The Two Holy Mosques in Saudi Arabia also held funeral prayers in absentia for the Emir on Sunday after Zuhr (noon) prayers.

Sheikh Nawaf was born on June 25, 1937. At the age of 25, he was appointed governor of Hawally on February 12, 1962, until March 19, 1978, when he was appointed the Minister of Interior.

On January 26, 1988, he became Minister of Defence.

Following the liberation of Kuwait in the Gulf War, Sheikh Nawaf was appointed the acting Minister of Labour and Social Affairs from April 2, 1991, to October 17, 1992.

He became the deputy chief of the Kuwaiti National Guard from October 16, 1994, to 2003.

On February 7, 2006, he was made crown prince through an Amiri decree issued by Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who ascended the throne of Kuwait on January 29, 2006.

With the passing of Sheikh Sabah on September 29, 2020, Sheikh Nawaf was announced as the Emir of Kuwait during a session of the National Assembly.

He was committed to programmes that supported national unity among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Arab countries.

The GCC countries that visited the country to express condolence included the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammad bin Salman; the King of Jordan, Abdallah Athani bin Al-Hussein; the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

Other dignitaries were the Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, and the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed al-Sudani.

Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, the new Emir of Kuwait, has been Kuwait’s Crown Prince since October 2020, following the death of Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.

Born in 1940, Sheikh Meshal is the seventh son of the 10th Ruler of Kuwait, the late Sheikh Ahmed Al Jaber Al Sabah, who ruled Kuwait from 1921 to 1950.

He is the younger half-brother of three consecutive emirs of Kuwait, namely Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah (1977–2006), Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah (2006–2020), and Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah (2020–2023).

Sheikh Meshal earned a degree from the UK’s Hendon Police College in 1960, after which he joined the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior.

From 1967 to 1980, he served as the head of MOI’s intelligence and state security service.

In 2004, Sheikh Meshal served as the deputy chief of the Kuwait National Guard (KNG), with the rank of minister, making him the most powerful man in the agency.

During his tenure, Sheikh Meshal led a reform of the agency and a crackdown on corruption. He then stepped down from his position at the KNG in 2020 upon his nomination as Crown Prince.

Shortly after his half-brother, the late Sheikh Sabah, became Emir in 2006, Sheikh Meshal was considered one of the top three decision-makers in the Al Sabah ruling family.

Sheikh Meshal had reportedly turned down more senior roles to avoid political disputes and maintain his relationships in the family.

He is the founder and honorary president of the Kuwait Amateur Radio Society. He has also been the honorary president of the Kuwait Aircraft Engineer Pilots Association and of the Diwan of Poets.