Kuwait emir urges new prime minister to crack down on corruption

Shaikh Sabah Al Khalid taking the oath as Kuwait’s eighth prime minister (Kuna)

Kuwait: Kuwait’s Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah has urged the newly-appointed Prime Minister, Shaikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah to crack down on corruption.

“We have given you responsibility … a big responsibility … fight corruption and the corrupt … Inshallah Allah the Almighty help you for the best interest of the nation and people,” the Emir told the Premier after he was sworn in.

The prime minister thanked the Emir for his trust in naming him as head of the government.

“I pledge to you to do all I can to continue the country’s blessed progress under the leadership of Your Highness,” he said.

Shaikh Sabah Al Khalid on Tuesday became the eighth prime minister of Kuwait after he was tasked with forming the new government, the 36^th in the history of the country.

Born in Kuwait in 1953, Shaikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kuwait University in 1977.

He joined the Foreign Ministry in 1978 as a diplomatic attaché, serving in the Arab affairs department until 1983 and with the permanent Kuwaiti mission at the (UN) from 1983 until 1989.

He also served as Kuwait’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Envoy at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) from 1995 to 1998.

He was awarded the King Abdulaziz Order of the First Class in 1998.

In 1998, he was appointed the Chief of National Security Bureau with a ministerial rank, Minister Social Affairs and Labor between July 2006 and March 2007, and Minister of Information between May 2008 and January 2009.

In 2011, he was appointed as Foreign Minister, and in 2012 as Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and Minister of State for Cabinet. In December 2012, he was re-assigned as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

In January 2014, he was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister.

In December 2016, he was re-appointed as Foreign minister, and as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister in December 2017.

The outgoing Kuwaiti cabinet resigned on Thursday amid deep rifts between lawmakers and ministers and rare feud between two senior ministers.

On Sunday, the emir removed the two ministers from the caretaker cabinet and reappointed the outgoing premier as head of the new government.

However, Shaikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah, who had been premier since 2011, declined the task and the emir on Monday appointed Shaikh Sabah Al Khalid.