Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah

Early life

Al-Sabah was born on 16 June 1929. He received primary education at Al Mubarakya School during the 1930s and then completed his education under tutors. He is the half-brother of the previous Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who appointed Sabah as Prime Minister in July 2003, replacing the Crown Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah. He had previously been Foreign Minister for 40 years, from 1963 to 2003, making him one of the longest-serving foreign ministers in the world.

Foreign minister of Kuwait

Prior to being the Emir of Kuwait, Sabah was the Foreign Minister of Kuwait between 1963 and 2003. During his time as Foreign Minister, Sabah restored Kuwaiti international relations after the Gulf War. Sabah was a pillar in the restoring the country after the Iraqi Invasion.

He was also First Deputy Prime Minister while serving as Foreign Minister.

Dynastic crisis of January 2006

On 15 January 2006 the emir, Sheikh Jaber, died, making Sheikh Saad, Crown Prince of Kuwait, the new emir. With the accession of Sheikh Saad, Sabah was likely to become the new Crown Prince, retaining his function of Prime Minister. However, the Constitution requires that the Emir be sworn in before Parliament, and the oath of office is complex; soon the word began to spread that Sheikh Saad was unable to take the oath in full. Some reports suggested that he suffered from Alzheimer's disease or some other debilitating disease; it was generally agreed that he was unable to speak, at least at any length. After a power struggle within the ruling family, Sheikh Saad agreed to abdicate as the Emir of Kuwait on 23 January 2006 due to his illness. The ruling family then chose Sheikh Sabah as the new Emir of Kuwait. On 24 January 2006, Kuwait’s parliament voted Emir Saad out of office, moments before an official letter of abdication was received. The Kuwaiti Cabinet nominated Al-Sabah to take over as emir. He swore in on 29 January 2006 with the National Assembly's approval, ending that crisis.

Government crisis of March 2008

Al-Sabah dissolved the National Assembly on 19 March 2008 and called for early elections on 17 May 2008, after the cabinet resigned in the week of 17 March 2008 following a power struggle with the government.

2012 parliamentary suspension

A struggle broke out between the government and parliament in 2012; he consequently dissolved the parliament.

Significant laws passed during his reign

Other positions held

Personal life

Al-Sabah's wife, Sheikha Fatuwah bint Salman Al-Sabah, died before 2 August 1990. She was a first cousin of his father, Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He has two sons, Sheikh Nasser (Minister of the Ruler's Court "Diwan Amiri"), and Sheikh Hamed. Sheikh Sabah also had two other children who died. His daughter, Sheikha Salwa, died from breast cancer on 23 June 2002 in London. The Emir named his palace "Dar Salwa" (the House of Salwa) after her. His fourth son, Sheikh Ahmed, died in a car accident in 1969.

The Emir enjoys fishing and travels to Oman frequently (Salalah in the Dhofar Governorate to be exact) where he owns a small island and goes fishing for leisure. He shies away from areas where there is a lot of glamour preferring instead areas where he can keep a low profile. Al-Sabah also frequented Somalia to hunt, and after the political turmoil, he still continues.

Humanitarianism

Former President Jimmy Carter calls Sheikh Sabah a 'global humanitarian leader' saying, 'His support of disaster relief, peace efforts and advancing public health are an inspiration. Other world leaders can learn from the wise example set by my friend, His Highness the Amir.

According to the 2014 Middle East Coutts Report, the Amir provided the largest individual donation in 2013 among GCC members in support of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, amounting to US$300 million. Also in 2014, The former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, cited the Amir as a Humanitarian Leader globally and presented him with a Humanitarian Award recognizing this role.

In 2015, the Amir pledged a Kuwaiti donation of $500 million toward easing the Syrian humanitarian crisis at the UN Summit convened in Kuwait.

In August 2017, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed gratitude for the Gulf country's leadership in humanitarian action, as well as the “dialogue […] and promotion of understanding Kuwait has shown in relation to all conflicts in the region,' adding, 'But it's not only the humanitarian leadership of Kuwait, it's the wisdom, the dialogue, the promotion of understanding that Kuwait has shown in relation to all conflicts in the region. Kuwait has no agenda. The agenda of Kuwait is peace; is understanding.” Mr. Guterres further noted the positive role played by the Amir of Kuwait in the current GCC crisis. and recalled that when he was High Commissioner for Refugees (June 2005 to December 2015) the Amir presided over the three conferences to mobilize the international community to support the Syrian people.

Mediation and conflict resolution

The Amir is a respected regional and international mediator due in part to his place in the Gulf Cooperation Council's leadership order and his forty years of service as Kuwait Foreign Minister and Prime Minister.. Under the leadership of the Amir, Kuwait has acted as a go-between for Pakistan and Bangladesh, Turkey and Bulgaria, Palestine and Jordan, factions in the civil war in Lebanon, and for all the Gulf States and Iran. In 2016 the Amir hosted several UN-sponsored meetings of leaders from the warring factions in the Yemeni Civil War.

The Amir quickly established Kuwait as the key mediator from the region in the Qatar diplomatic crisis, meeting with Saudi and Emirati officials on 6-7 June before leaving for Doha to discuss the rift with Qatari leaders. His on-going efforts have been publicly supported by Qatar and the other interested parties from the region as well as the US, UK, France and Germany. . At the beginning of September 2017, The Amir discussed the situation with top officials in Washington, including President Donald Trump who 'hailed his efforts' to mediate and 'applauded Kuwait’s “critical contributions to regional stability”' There was some questioning from the boycotting countries regarding any preconditions. President Emmanuel Macron of France stated French support for the Kuwaiti leader's mediation efforts following a meeting in Paris on 15 September 2017, reiterating June 2017 statements of support for the Kuwait led initiative.

Titles and styles

Kuwait national honours

Foreign honours