Mishaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber is the new Kuwaiti Crown Prince

Kuwait's Parliament approves the nomination of the successor elected by the new emir

PHOTO/AFP - The new Kuwaiti Crown Prince, Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Jaber Al-Sabah (C), makes a gesture when he is sworn in before Parliament on 8 October 2020 in Kuwait City. - Sheikh Meshal, aged 80, has been deputy head of Kuwait's National Guard since 2004, remaining largely on the sidelines of the political scene and away from disputes within the royal family.

Updated: 09/10/20

The National Assembly of Kuwait on Thursday unanimously approved the nomination as Crown Prince of Mishaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, half-brother of the new Amir, Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah.

"The 59 members who attended the special session blessed" the election of al-Ahmad al-Jaber, who was appointed on Wednesday as his successor, reported the official Kuwaiti news agency KUNA.

After being approved by Parliament, Mishaal al-Ahmad, who on Wednesday had also received the "blessing" from the royal family Al-Sabah, entered this legislative chamber and swore to comply with the Constitution of Kuwait, completing the final procedure for his appointment as heir to the Kuwaiti throne.

The emirate's constitution states that the crown prince must be a descendant of Mubarak al-Sabah, emir of Kuwait from 1896 to 1915, and "the legitimate son of Muslim parents.

El Emir de Kuwait Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah se reúne con el recién nombrado príncipe heredero, el Jeque Meshal al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah, en la Ciudad de Kuwait, Kuwait, el 8 de octubre de 2020.

It also states that the emir of Kuwait has one year from the date of his appointment, which in the case of Nawaf al-Ahmad took place on 29 September, the same day his predecessor, Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, died at 91 in the United States after a long illness.

The appointment of the Crown Prince took less than ten days, and the members of the National Assembly were therefore pleased that stability had been strengthened in the country.

"We are proud of the smooth transfer of power, which represents a commitment to the provisions of the Constitution," Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sabah Khaled al-Hamad al-Sabah said afterwards.

Miembros del Parlamento de Kuwait y ministros asisten a una sesión para aprobar el nombramiento del Jeque Meshal al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah como príncipe de Kuwait en la Ciudad de Kuwait, Kuwait 8 de octubre de 2020.

Mishaal al-Ahmad was born in 1940 and is the half-brother of both the new emir and his predecessor, as he is the son of Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, who was Kuwait's tenth ruler between 1921 and 1950.

According to brief biographical information provided by the Ministry of the Kuwaiti Royal House, he "has not held any political office" and has so far developed his career in the field of national security.

He graduated in 1960 from the prestigious Hendon Police Academy in London, has been director general of investigations at the Ministry of the Interior for 13 years and for the past 17 years has held the post of deputy commander of the National Guard. "He is one of the most important security specialists in the country," said the Royal House Ministry.

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