Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf sworn in as new ruler of Kuwait
Kuwait’s Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah was sworn in Wednesday as the ruling emir of the tiny oil-rich country, propelled to power by the death of his half-brother after a long career in the security services, reports AP.
At age 83, Sheikh Nawaf is not likely to deviate from the diplomatic path charted by his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.
But his accession touched off speculation about who'll end up being the next crown prince in the united states known because of its lively elected parliament and relative independence in a nearby of Gulf Arab monarchies.
The late Sheikh Sabah was set to make his final journey to Kuwait down the road Wednesday, his coffin flying back from Rochester, Minnesota, home of the flagship campus of the Mayo Clinic where he previously been receiving treatment after surgery.
Although his funeral would typically draw thousands of mourning Kuwaitis and scores of foreign leaders and dignitaries, because of the coronavirus pandemic the burial is a private service limited to relatives, said Kuwait’s state-run news agency, KUNA. The breadth and depth of emotion over the increased loss of Sheikh Sabah, known for his deft diplomacy and peacemaking, was reflected in condolence messages that streamed in from countries on opposite ends of regional bitter disputes, including Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Sheikh Nawaf took office as the brand new ruler of Kuwait in the Parliament building before rows of applauding lawmakers, clad within their traditional white robes and surgical masks because of the pandemic.
