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<\/p>\nKuwait’s ruling emir, the 86-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died, the country’s state television reported today.<\/p>\n
Kuwait TV broke into programming with verses from the Koran just before making the announcement.<\/p>\n
In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was rushed to hospital for an unspecified illness.<\/p>\n
In the time since, the tiny, oil-rich nation had been waiting for news about his health.<\/p>\n
State-run news previously reported that he travelled to the United States for unspecified medical checks in March 2021.<\/p>\n
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Kuwait’s ruling emir, the 86-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, has died, the country’s state television reported today<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/16\/10\/79032445-12871243-image-a-42_1702723912249.jpg\")
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Kuwait, a nation home to about 4.2 million people which is slightly smaller than the US state of New Jersey, has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves. Pictured: Flags lowered to half-mast today<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/16\/10\/79032443-12871243-image-a-43_1702723937273.jpg\")
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In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was rushed to hospital for an unspecified illness. In the time since, the tiny, oil-rich nation had been waiting for news about his health<\/p>\n
The health of Kuwait’s leaders remains a sensitive matter in the Middle Eastern nation bordering Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which has seen internal power struggles behind palace doors.<\/p>\n
Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in as emir following the 2020 death of his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah.<\/p>\n
The breadth and depth of emotion over the loss of Sheikh Sabah, known for his diplomacy and peacemaking, was felt across the region.<\/p>\n
Sheikh Nawaf previously served as Kuwait’s interior and defence minister but was not seen as particularly active in government outside those terms.<\/p>\n
However, he was largely an uncontroversial choice for emir, though his advancing age led analysts to suggest his tenure would be short.<\/p>\n
Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, now 83, is believed to be the world’s oldest crown prince. He is in line to take over as Kuwait’s ruler.<\/p>\n
Kuwait, a nation home to about 4.2 million people which is slightly smaller than the US state of New Jersey, has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves.<\/p>\n
It has been a staunch US ally since the 1991 Gulf War expelled the occupying Iraqi forces of Saddam Hussein.<\/p>\n
Kuwait hosts some 13,500 American troops in the country, as well as the forward headquarters of the US Army in the Middle East.<\/p>\n