Kuwait emir Sheikh Nawaf dies aged 86
The coffin of Kuwait's late Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah is carried out of the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in Kuwait City ahead of burial during his funeral on 17 December 2023. Kuwait saw a quick transition to a new emir on December 16 following the death at 86 of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah after three years in power. (Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat / AFP)
Kuwait saw a quick transition to a new emir on Saturday following the death at 86 of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah after three years in power.
He was succeeded by his half-brother, Sheikh Meshal, who takes over the oil-rich Gulf emirate at the age of 83, state television reported.
Sheikh Meshal, who had already assumed some of the emir's constitutional duties in 2021, has spent most of his career in Kuwait's security and intelligence apparatus, keeping his distance from the often bitter disputes within the royal family.
His predecessor's reign was short but tumultuous, marked by deep political turmoil and economic challenges triggered by a fall in oil prices that has left Kuwait lagging behind its wealthy Gulf neighbours, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
State TV cut its regular programming and switched to a broadcast of a Koranic recital before announcing Sheikh Nawaf's death.
"With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn… the death of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, emir of the State of Kuwait," said a statement.
Public offices will shut for three days and 40 days of mourning were declared.
Sheikh Nawaf, who will be laid to rest on Sunday, had been hospitalised in November for an undisclosed "emergency", but had been said to be in a stable condition.