Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf commissions Crown Prince with key constitutional powers

Decree gives Crown Prince power to suggest laws and approve them

Sheikh Nawaf, Emir of Kuwait, left, and Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal Al Sabah, right. EPA

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf has issued a decree to commission the Crown Prince with key constitutional powers, Minister of Emiri Diwan Sheikh Mohammed Abdallah AL Sabah said in a statement.

The reason for the decree, seen by The National, was not revealed.

Sheikh Nawaf, 84, has the last say on state affairs and policies. He can dissolve parliament and appoint new governments.

Sheikh Meshal Al Sabah, 81, was named Crown Prince in 2020.

Sheikh Nawaf has commissioned Sheikh Meshal to launch mandatory consultations to choose a new prime minister, as well as giving him responsibility for forming a new Cabinet and accepting the resignation of Cabinets and ministers, according to the decree.

The decree also says the Crown Prince can suggest laws and approve them, issue Emiri Decrees, announce a state of emergency and enter into international agreements among other powers.

On Sunday, Sheikh Nawaf ordered a meeting between caretaker Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid, Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al Ghanem and Ahmad Al Ajeel, president of the Supreme Court and chairman of the Court of Cassation, Kuna reported.

Sheikh Sabah and Mr Marzouq later met Sheikh Meshal.

Prior to becoming Crown Prince, Sheikh Meshal had been deputy chief of the National Guard since 2004.

He was head of State Security for 13 years after joining the Interior Ministry in the 1960s.

He attended Hendon Police College in the UK and spent much of his career helping to improve security and defence systems in Kuwait.

Sheikh Nawaf is the 16th ruler of a dynasty that has been in power for 250 years.

In July 2003, his predecessor, Sheikh Sabah, issued a decree that separated the positions of prime minister and Crown Prince for the first time since Kuwait’s independence.