Nasser Al-Sabah

Nasser Mohammed Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
ناصر المحمد الأحمد الصباح
Prime Minister of Kuwait
In office
7 February 2006 – 28 November 2011
Monarch Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Deputy Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah
Preceded by Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
Succeeded by Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah
Minister of Social Affairs
In office
11 January 1988 – 9 March 1990
Prime Minister Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah
Preceded by Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah
Succeeded by Jaber Abdullah
Personal details
Born 1943 (age 72–73)
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Political party Independent
Alma mater University of Geneva
Religion Sunni Islam

Nasser Mohammed Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (Arabic: الشيخ ناصر المحمد الأحمد الصباح‎‎, born 1943) is a Kuwaiti politician who served as Prime Minister of Kuwait from 7 February 2006 until resigning on 28 November 2011.

Early life

Sheikh Nasser was born in 1943 as the son of Mohammed Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the first defense minister of Kuwait.[1] He is the nephew of the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.[1][2] He attended high school in the United Kingdom and graduated in 1959.[1] Then he received a higher diploma in the French language in 1960.[1] In 1964, Sheikh Nasser graduated from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) with a bachelor's degree in political science and economics.[1]

Career

Sheikh Nasser began his career as a third secretary at the foreign ministry in 1964.[1] He became a member of the permanent Kuwaiti delegation at the United Nations in New York in October 1964.[1] He then served as ambassador to Iran and Afghanistan, the minister of information, minister of social affairs and labour, minister of state for foreign affairs and minister of the Emiri Diwan. He became prime minister when Sabah Al Ahmad began to rule Kuwait in February 2006.[1]

Sheikh Nasser resigned on 4 March 2007 in a move observers believe was aimed at avoiding a no-confidence motion against health minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah. Ten MPs presented the motion in February over suspected financial and administrative breaches at the ministry. The vote was due to have taken place in parliament on 5 March and Sheikh Ahmad would have had to step down if legislators had voted against him. He was reappointed as prime minister on 6 March.

On 25 November, the cabinet resigned, and on 17 December the Emir reappointed Nasser as prime minister of the new cabinet.[3] In March 2009, the Kuwaiti Government submitted its resignation to the Emir of Kuwait after Islamist MPs requested a hearing of the P.M. On 9 May, after the election of the new Parliament, the Emir asked Sheikh Nasser to form the Kuwaiti Government for the sixth consecutive time. The new Government maintained supremacy of the Al-Ahmed Branch of the Al-Sabah Family.

In December 2009, opposition members of parliament filed a motion of "non-cooperation" against Sheikh Nasser over corruption charges. Allegations were that his office misappropriated millions of dollars in the run up to the 2008 elections, and a $700,000 cheque issued to an MP in 2008.[4]

In January 2011, he survived a vote of no-confidence in parliament with a vote of 25–25 (26 were needed to bring down the Government).[5] In April 2011, his cabinet resigned due to a stand-off with parliament; he was reappointed on 6 April 2011 to form a new government, but he resigned again on 28 November 2011.[6] His resignation was accepted by the Emir and he appointed Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah as next prime minister on 4 December 2011.[6]

Dispute with Speaker Al-Kharafi

On 3 November 2007, Parliamentary Speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi told the pan-Arab Arabiya television in an interview that he had "question marks" about the Prime Minister's decisions. A transcript of the interview was published in Alrai daily, which included Al-Kharafi's comment that too many reshuffles necessitate "a review and an evaluation of what measures should be taken." Al-Kharafi said the reshuffle should not have been put off for the whole summer and that it indicated a "policy of patching" up problems, rather than solving them.

In response, Prime Minister Nasser issued a statement about Al-Kharafi to the state-owned Kuwait News Agency, which was splashed on the front pages of daily newspapers. In the statement, PM Nasser said that Al-Kharafi was overstepping in bounds in trying to influence cabinet selections: "I have no doubt that .... the speaker realizes that his attempts to interfere in forming the Cabinet and affecting its decisions is overstretching his constitutional mandate." The back-and-forth marked the first such public tensions between a speaker and a prime Minister.[7]

Titles, Styles and Honours

Titles and styles

Honours

Iran November 1968 The Persian Imperial Decoration of the First Degree from the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
France 1984 Decoration of the First Rank of Knight from the Mayor of Paris Jacques Chirac.
Argentina 15 August 1993 The First Degree National Decoration of the Republic of Argentina, from President Carlos Menem of Argentina.
Senegal 7 October 1994 The Highest Decoration of Knight of the Republic of Senegal from the Senegalese President Abdou Diouf.
3 November 1996 Appreciation Certificate of the Rank of Excellence from the Organization of Islamic Conference.
Finland 16 September 1997 The Most Distinguished Decoration of the Rank of Lion of Finland by President Marti Ahtisaari of Finland.
Italy 15 November 2005 ‘The Giglio’ Symbol, being the highest decoration of the city of Florence, presented by the Mayor of Florence - Italy, on the occasion of the Fifteenth Anniversary celebrations of the foundation of the Italia-Kuwait National Association.
France 12 September 2006 Distinguished Decoration of France's Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur with Grand Officer Class, conferred by H.E. Jacques Chirac, presented by H.E Dominique de Villepin, French Prime Minister, at the Hôtel Matignon.
Qatar 28 January 2007 The First Degree National Decoration "Qaladat Al-Istihaqaq" bestowed by H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar.
United Arab Emirates 29 January 2007 The First Degree National Decoration "Al-Ittihad" bestowed by H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates.
Senegal 9 April 2007 Received decoration of "Grande Croix de l'Ordre National du Mérite" of the Republic of Senegal from the Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade.
Indonesia 30 May 2007 The Highest Indonesian Order of Merit received from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia.
Albania 13 December 2007 Received a copy of the key of the city of Tirana on the occasion of his state visit to Albania.[8]
Spain 23 May 2008 Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit from His Majesty King Juan Carlos I of Spain.[9]
Albania 12 October 2011 Honorary Citizen of Tirana, capital of Albania.[10]

See also

References

Political offices
Preceded by
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah		 Prime Minister of Kuwait
2006–2011 		Succeeded by
Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah
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