KUWAIT: Veteran Kuwaiti diplomat Khaled Sulaiman Al-Jarallah, who served as Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister for over two decades, passed away on Sunday. He was 77. Born in Kuwait City in 1947, Al-Jarallah had a long and distinguished career in diplomacy, dedicating his life to serving Kuwait’s foreign policy interests. After earning his bachelor’s degree in political science from Kuwait University in 1971, he quickly rose through the ranks of the ministry of foreign affairs.

Al-Jarallah served as Kuwait’s ambassador to Lebanon in the 1970s before returning home to take on key positions within the ministry. From 1974 to 1987, he was head of Arab relations, and later briefly oversaw GCC relations. In 1999, Al-Jarallah was appointed deputy foreign minister, a post he held until 2021, making him the longest-serving official in that role in Kuwait’s history. Throughout his tenure, he was known for his close working relationship with the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his significant involvement in many pivotal diplomatic files.

Al-Jarallah played an instrumental role in efforts to repatriate Kuwaiti prisoners of war, the demarcation of Kuwait’s border with Iraq following the 1990 invasion and the US military intervention in Iraq in 2003. In 2018, he played a leading role in organizing the Kuwait-hosted conference for the reconstruction of Iraqi cities damaged by the war against IS, which resulted in over $30 billion in pledges. He was also actively engaged in Kuwait’s Syria diplomacy, particularly in 2012, through the Group of Friends of the Syrian People and various regional and international initiatives.

A strong advocate for justice in international affairs, Al-Jarallah firmly opposed the US decision to move its embassy in the Zionist entity to Jerusalem. Commenting at the time, he said: “I am not optimistic with the current structure of the Security Council that anything will change, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t take a stance.”