Kuwait's new emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah appointed Tuesday Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah as crown prince and Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah as prime minister. The appointments were made in two decrees. Sheikh Nawaf is the emir's half-brother and has held the post of first deputy prime minister since 2003, while Sheikh Nasser has been the minister of the emiri court since 1998. The crown prince's appointment to become effective needs to be approved by a majority in the oil-rich emirate's elected parliament. Under the constitution, the new premier, a nephew of the emir, has two weeks to form a government which must first be approved by the emir and take the oath of office in parliament before assuming power.The two men are from the Al-Jaber branch of the Al-Sabah ruling family, which by tradition has been alternating the leadership of the state with the Al-Salem branch for the past 85 years. The appointment follows a crisis of succession in Kuwait that saw ailing emir Sheikh Saad al-Abdallah al-Sabah voted out of office after only nine days in power following the death of his predecessor Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah on January 15. Sheikh Sabah was later nominated as new ruler and was confirmed by parliament on January 29. He was sworn in the same day.
| Can't tell the Sabahs without a scorecard. |