ShareKUWAIT: Two years ago, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah designated His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to be the Heir Apparent and his strong support for managing state affairs and lead the march towards further development and prosperity. Today, Sheikh Mishal completes two years in this crucial role as His Highness the Amir's trusted adviser and his deputy whenever the need arose, proving to be a true and trustworthy leader.
Upon proclaiming the declaration of allegiance, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf announced on Sept 29, 2020, after consulting with other members from the Al-Sabah family and in line with the Kuwait Constitution and Kuwait's Hereditary Law, that Sheikh Mishal was to be chosen as the new Crown Prince and on October 8, he took the Constitutional Oath in front of His Highness the Amir, following an extraordinary session at the National Assembly, when 59 MPs unanimously declared allegiance to him as the Heir Apparent.
In his statement delivered at the session, he pledged to be "the strong right hand and trusted adviser for His Highness the Amir, to be a faithful citizen who works for the welfare of the homeland and its progress and to maintain the national unity while adhering to the country's sovereignty and guiding principles." Since his proclamation, His Highness the Crown Prince, has been guiding the judicial, legislative and executive authorities to deliver their critical responsibilities, maintain the jurisdiction's separation and follow the laws to safeguard the stability and governance of the country.
Sheikh Mishal said, "Kuwait is the cause of our existence and thus we are all partners in shouldering the responsibility of managing our country," adding that the people and the rulers should play key roles in promoting Kuwait as well as in maintaining unity and stability in the country. He also vowed to keenly seek to attain the aspirations of the Kuwaiti people by promoting unity and preventing dissension. "I will be with you to draw a bright picture together for our future," he declared, reiterating his commitment to democracy and justice.
On June 22, His Highness the Crown Prince addressed a statement to the people on behalf of His Highness the Amir, declaring that the leadership has decided to listen to the people to "correct the path of the political situation in the country in a manner that will reflect its best interests," whereby he declared constitutional dissolution of the National Assembly based on Provision 107 of the Kuwait Constitution and called for parliamentary elections. His Highness Sheikh Mishal said that "we would not interfere in the people's choice of their representatives," adding that the higher leadership would not influence the parliament's internal elections. "We will not support one segment against another and we will observe the same distance with everybody," he stressed.
In accordance with this desire, the parliamentary elections, held on Sept 29, were organized so that the citizens could freely choose their representatives in the parliament and have the last word in this decision. Meanwhile, Sheikh Mishal headed, on Sept 14, a Kuwaiti delegation to the 42nd session of the GCC Supreme Council, in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. On July 16, he led the Kuwaiti delegation at the Jeddah Summit for Security and Development that saw the participation of officials from the GCC countries, the US, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq.
On Sept 19, His Highness the Heir Apparent met King Charles III of Britain, to convey the condolences of His Highness the Amir and the Kuwaiti people on the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, who was deeply cherished by the Kuwaiti leadership and her people. He also remembered her for her pioneering role in cementing the historic and special relations between the two friendly peoples and their countries.
Sheikh Mishal, over the past decades, have held a series of senior positions, serving as Minister of Interior, Chief of the National Guards and have also accompanied previous Amirs on foreign missions abroad. Born in 1940, Sheikh Mishal is the seventh son of the late 10th Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who ruled the country between 1921 and 1950. He studied at the Al-Mubarakiya School and pursued his higher studies in 1960 at the British Hendon Police College, following which he joined the interior ministry holding key positions such as Head of General Inspection from 1967 until 1980. It was during his stint there that the interior ministry was changed into a state security department.
On April 13, 2014, he was named the second chief of the National Guard and remained in this post until he was proclaimed the Crown Prince. As Chief of the National Guard, Sheikh Mishal contributed to drafting the National Guard's strategy aimed at protecting the country, its legitimacy, constitution and people. He earned an honorary chairmanship of Kuwait's Pilots Society in 1973 and was also the co-founder of the Kuwaiti wireless communication society and its honorary chairperson.
In 1977, he was named by the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as the Head of the Al-Nibt Poetry Diwaniya. On Dec 4, 2018, Florence Barely, the French Minister of the Armed Forces, decorated him with the Legion of Honor Medal for his key role in establishing friendly relations between Kuwait and France. - KUNA
