Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the emir of Kuwait, who drew on his decades as the oil-rich nation’s top diplomat to push for closer ties to Iraq after the 1990 Persian Gulf War and solutions to other regional crises, died Tuesday. He was 91.
Sheikh Sabah stood out for his efforts at pushing for diplomacy to resolve a bitter dispute between Qatar and other Arab nations that continues to this day. His 2006 ascension in Kuwait came after parliament voted unanimously to oust his predecessor, the ailing Sheikh Sa’ad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, just nine days into his rule, AP reported.
Yet as Kuwait’s emir, he struggled with internal political disputes including seesawing crude oil prices that chewed into a national budget providing cradle-to-grave subsidies.
State television announced his death after playing Qur’an recitation, with Royal Court Minister Sheikh Ali Jarrah al-Sabah reading a brief statement, his hands shaking.
“With great sadness and sorrow, the Kuwaiti people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the friendly peoples of the world mourn the death of the late His Highness Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, emir of the state of Kuwait who moved to the realm of the Lord,” the sheikh said, without offering a cause of death.
Sheikh Sabah is expected to be succeeded by his half brother, Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
The high regard for Sheikh Sabah could be seen in the outpouring of support for him across the Mideast as he suddenly fell ill in July 2020, leading to a quick hospitalization and surgery in Kuwait City amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Authorities did not say what ailed him.
Sheikh Sabah became Kuwait’s foreign minister in 1963 after holding a number of other governmental posts. He would remain in that position for four decades, making him one of the world’s longest-serving foreign ministers.
His country’s greatest crisis came in 1990, when Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and occupied the nation for seven months.
On Feb. 24, 1991, US troops and their allies stormed into Kuwait. It ended 100 hours later. America suffered 148 combat deaths during the whole campaign, while over 20,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed.