KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah issued an Amiri order on Saturday nominating former prime minister HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah as the country’s new Crown Prince. Under the Kuwaiti constitution, the Amir and Crown Prince must be from the descendants of Sheikh Mubarak Al-Kabeer, who ruled Kuwait between 1896 and 1915.

HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled graduated from Kuwait University in political science and began his career as a senior employee in the foreign ministry. He was appointed as head of the Kuwait National Security Council, which was abolished last week, in 1998. He took his first ministerial job as minister of social affairs and labor in July 2006. He later became minister of information, justice and Islamic affairs.

In 2011, HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled was appointed foreign minister and continued to lead Kuwait’s diplomacy until 2019, when he was appointed prime minister for the first time, succeeding HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. His term as head of the government ended in 2022 when he declined an offer to form the new government, although he continued to attend important events as a former prime minister.

Under the Kuwaiti constitution, the new Crown Prince must be endorsed by the National Assembly, but as parliament has been dissolved and parts of the constitution were frozen for four years by HH the Amir, he will not need the endorsement. The Amiri order however asked HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah to convey the order to the Council of Ministers in order to take the necessary constitutional measures.