Kuwait Emir names Sheikh Mishaal Al Ahmad Al Sabah as Crown Prince

Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who was sworn in as the Kuwaiti Emir last month, has named Sheikh Mishaal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah as the Crown Prince of the country, state news agency Kuna reported on Wednesday.

Kuwait Amir names Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as Crown Prince – Amiri Diwan https://t.co/sdPndZBjeA#KUNA #KUWAIT

— Kuwait News Agency – English Feed (@kuna_en) October 7, 2020

Sheikh Mishaal is brother to Kuwait’s former ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who passed away on September 29.

The appointment of the crown prince must be approved by the country’s parliament.

Sheikh Mishaal has never held any political post but has been a prominent member of the ruling family for two decades, serving since 2004 as deputy chief of the National Guard.

He was close to the late emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, accompanying him to the US in July for post-operative treatment.

The choice of Sheikh Mishaal, a member of Kuwait’s old guard, as the country’s future ruler contrasts with appointments in the neighbouring states of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman, where a younger generation of royals are in the pipeline to take over.

With inputs from Bloomberg