Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah (Photo: AFP/Jaber Abdulkhaleg)
Eurasia
17/12/2023 18:09
Authorities gave no cause of death, but announced the start of a 40-day official mourning period and a three-day closure of government departments.
Kuwait’s crown prince and his half-brother, Sheikh Meshaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, 83, was subsequently named new emir, a statement from Issa Al-Kandari, the deputy prime minister and minister of state for cabinet affairs said.
Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in in September 2020 after the death of his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, in the United States at the age of 91.
“This is a very sad day for Kuwait. The sheikh has only done good for the country. His legacy will be remembered fondly,” Bader al-Saif, a history professor at Kuwait University, told Al Jazeera. “His era is notable even though it is the third shortest in Kuwaiti history.”
Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah has been laid to rest in a private funeral attended by select relatives, according to Al Jazeera. State television on Sunday showed a prayer ceremony at Bilal bin Rabah mosque in the capital Kuwait City and a funeral procession to the Sulaibikhat cemetery for the emir, which were limited in attendance to the ruling family.
