DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The 91-year-old emir of Kuwait underwent “successful” surgery on Sunday that required the crown prince of the oil-rich nation to be temporarily trained to serve instead, his agency of state news reported.
Kuwait has yet to explain why the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, needed to seek previously unannounced medical treatment as of Saturday. However, Sheikh Sabah’s sudden surgery could renew a power struggle within Kuwait’s ruling family.
The state news agency KUNA on Saturday described Sheikh Sabah’s hospitalization as “medical checks,” citing a statement from the country’s royal court. Several hours later, KUNA released a second report saying that the 83-year-old crown prince, Nawaf Al al-Ahmad al-Sabah, had temporarily assumed some of the powers of Sheikh Sabah, without explaining why that was necessary.
But a copy of the ministerial decree published by the Kuwaiti official daily, Kuwait Al-Youm, and seen by The Associated Press on Sunday, said the crown prince would be empowered to “last a surgical procedure until the health event ends. “
The decree did not elaborate. The Kuwait Information Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, though minutes later the state-run KUNA news agency reported that Sheikh Sabah underwent “successful” surgery, without providing further details.
“May God bless your highness and grant you a speedy recovery,” the KUNA report said, citing a statement from the royal court.
Sheikh Sabah, a much-loved ruler, came to power in 2006 just nine days after the rule of the ill Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah. Concerns increased during Sheikh Saad’s brief reign, as he was seen in public alone in a wheelchair and did not speak.
However, Sheikh Sabah’s ascension disrupted an informal power-sharing agreement between branches of the ruling Kuwaiti family. Since then, the country has remained politically stable with the most empowered parliament of any Persian Gulf nation, but there have been power struggles behind the scenes of its government.
Kuwait, a nation of 4.1 million people, has the sixth largest known oil reserve in the world.
It has been a staunch ally of the United States since the 1991 Gulf War expelled the occupying Iraqi forces from Saddam Hussein. Today, Kuwait is home to some 13,500 US troops, many of them at Camp Arifjan, south of Kuwait City, which is also home to the U.S. Army Central Forward Command.
