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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Kuwait
Index
Figure 5. Kuwait: Abbreviated Genealogy of the Al 238 Sabah, with
Government Positions, 1992
Source: Based on information from Alan Rush, Al-Sabah:
Genealogy and History of Kuwait's Ruling Family, 1752-1987,
Atantic Highlands, 1987; and United States, Central Intelligence
Agency, Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign
Governments, Washington, 1992, 48-49.
Jabir al Ahmad al Jabir Al Sabah, ruler of Kuwait
Courtesy Embassy of Kuwait, Washington
The modern political history of Kuwait began in the
early
eighteenth century when a number of families of the Bani
Utub
section of the Anaizah tribe migrated from central Arabia,
settling eventually in Kuwait. Once in Kuwait, they
established a
self-governing political unit. The date of 1756 is
conventionally
chosen as the year when the settlers decided to select as
their
leader Sabah, an Al Sabah shaykh, who was succeeded by his
son
Abd Allah, in turn succeeded by his son Jabir. All
subsequent
rulers historically have come from the Al Sabah line,
chosen by
family council, in consultation with the leading merchant
families who, along with the tribal elite, exercise some
restriction over the shaykhs' political autonomy.
The shaykh's primary task was to represent his
community in
foreign policy, negotiating with Ottoman Turkey and with
neighboring tribes. The one major and unsuccessful
challenge to
this system of rule occurred in the 1760s when the Al
Khalifa
family disagreed with the Al Sabah and in consequence left
Kuwait
for Qatar, and then Bahrain, where the Al Khalifa continue
to
rule. Despite the rift, the two settlements maintained
good
relations, including close trade ties.
In the nineteenth century, members of the Al Sabah
oversaw
the growing trade and pearling settlement in Kuwait. The
rulers
also developed a cordial relationship with Britain,
beginning
with the first contacts with the British East India
Company in
1775. As members of a small, vulnerable settlement,
Kuwait's
rulers attempted to maintain a polite but distant
relationship
with all the local powers, notably the British, the
Wahhabis (see Glossary)
of Arabia, and the Ottomans. It was only under
Abd
Allah Al Sabah II, who ruled from 1866 to 1892, that
Kuwait began
to edge away from this policy of neutrality. Abd Allah
developed
close ties with the Ottomans, even taking the Ottoman
title,
albeit largely as a formality, of provincial governor
(qaimaqam) in 1871. In practical terms, Kuwait's
domestic
politics remained unchanged because the Ottoman government
did
not interfere in the selection of rulers and laws. In any
event,
this tilt was completely reversed when, following the
four-year
rule of Muhammad Al Sabah, Mubarak the Great acceded to
the rule
from 1896 to 1915.
Kuwait came into the British sphere of influence at the
end
of the nineteenth century when Mubarak sought British
support
against Ottoman forces. The Ottomans were backing allies
of
Mubarak's brothers, Kuwait's previous rulers, whom Mubarak
had
killed on taking power in 1896. Uneasy about Ottoman
intentions,
Mubarak reversed his predecessors' pro-Ottoman policy and
approached Britain, seeking a more formal alliance.
Britain,
concerned with growing European interests and notably with
an
Ottoman concession to Germany for construction of a
Berlin-to-
Baghdad railroad--with a proposed spur line to
Kuwait--agreed.
Britain signed a treaty with Kuwait in 1899 that promised
Mubarak
British support and, in return, gave Britain control of
Kuwait's
foreign policy. This treaty governed relations between the
two
states until Kuwait's independence in 1961. It granted
Britain
tremendous influence, most notably in foreign and economic
policy.
After Mubarak's death, Kuwait was ruled by two of his
sons,
Jabir Al Sabah (1915-17) and Salim Al Sabah (1917-21)
(see
fig. 5). Thereafter, with one exception, only descendants of
Mubarak
through these two sons would rule Kuwait, thus forming a
major
cleavage within the ruling family. After Salim's death in
1921,
Kuwait was ruled for nearly three decades by Ahmad al
Jabir Al
Sabah. Ahmad al Jabir's rule witnessed a serious effort to
constrain ruling family power. In 1938 a rebellion, known
locally
as the Majlis Movement, developed. New issues arose.
Kuwait was
in the midst of a serious recession as a result of the
general
decline of the pearling industry, the Great Depression,
and a
trade dispute with Saudi Arabia that prompted a Saudi
embargo.
Simultaneously, the recently signed oil concession with
KOC
promised better times ahead if the resulting income were
not
monopolized by the ruling family. To prevent that from
happening,
the leading merchants began petitioning the ruler for a
series of
reforms. In June the merchants took their protest a step
further,
holding elections for a legislative assembly to implement
the
desired reforms using these new revenues. The Legislative
Assembly ruled for six months until finally put down by
the ruler
and his tribal backers. The assembly, however, came to be
viewed
as Kuwait's first prodemocracy movement. Its popularity
gave the
idea of formal representation a place in Kuwaiti popular
history.
Ahmad al Jabir was succeeded by his cousin Abd Allah as
Salim
Al Sabah (1950-65), who oversaw the distribution of now
substantial oil revenues, the consequent emergence of a
large
bureaucratic state, and the transformation of Kuwait into
a
wealthy oil-producing shaykhdom. In terms of internal
developments, Abd Allah as Salim made two transformative
political decisions. The first was to distribute these new
revenues broadly throughout the population, primarily
through
wide-ranging social services, notably education and health
care.
The second was to introduce a greater degree of political
participation to Kuwait in the form of the newly elected
National
Assembly. This body held its first elections in 1963. Abd
Allah
as Salim also oversaw Kuwait's transformation into a
formally
independent state on June 19, 1961, when he and British
representatives signed new letters of friendship to
replace the
treaty of 1899.
When Abd Allah as Salim died in 1965, he was succeeded
by his
brother Sabah as Salim Al Sabah--a somewhat unusual choice
in
that he, like Abd Allah as Salim, came from the Salim line
rather
than the Jabir line of the family, breaking the
alternation
between the two sides of the family that had existed since
the
rule of Mubarak's sons Jabir and Salim. Nonetheless, Sabah
as
Salim's rule proved to be largely a continuation and
consolidation of policies set in place by Abd Allah as
Salim.
When Sabah as Salim died in December 1977, he was
succeeded by
Shaykh Jabir al Ahmad al Jabir Al Sabah, a succession that
returned the former pattern of alternation between the
lines of
Jabir and Salim.
The influence of external events has dominated Jabir al
Ahmad's rule. The first was the Iran-Iraq War, which
rapidly
increased the level of political violence in this
historically
relatively peaceful shaykhdom. Major events included the
1983
bombing of the United States embassy and, probably most
notable,
the dramatic public assassination attempt on the amir in
1985.
The tension associated with the war also exacerbated
divisions
within Kuwaiti society, notably that between Sunnis and
Shia, and
prompted the amir increasingly to limit public
participation in
political life. Although in 1980 Shaykh Jabir al Ahmad
restored
the National Assembly (which Sabah as Salim had abolished
in
1976), the increasing political tension prompted him to do
away
with it again in 1986 and to introduce new measures
curtailing
civil and political rights. These measures prompted a wide
range
of opposition leaders--including old parliamentarians,
Islamists
(sometimes seen as fundamentalists), and merchants--to
form the
Constitutional Movement of 1989-90, a prodemocracy
movement
calling for the restoration of the National Assembly.
The second external event was the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait in
August 1990, which, for the first time in Kuwait's
history,
placed the state under direct foreign rule. Although
sovereignty
was restored in February 1991, events leading up to the
invasion
and the amir's behavior during and after the occupation
prompted
open grumbling about the ruling family itself. The
criticism
centered on the amir and the fact that most of the ruling
family
spent the time of the Iraqi occupation in comfortable
exile
abroad and delayed their return to the country after the
war
ended.
In 1993 Shaykh Jabir al Ahmad still ruled Kuwait; his
designated successor, Prime Minister Saad al Abd Allah as
Salim
Al Sabah, also came from the Al Sabah ruling family.
Although the
Al Sabah remained paramount, the family as a ruling
institution
had changed dramatically since it assumed its leading role
in the
mid-eighteenth century. First, succession patterns within
the
family had changed. In the nineteenth century, rule passed
regularly from father to son. With the accession of
Mubarak in
the late nineteenth century, a new pattern was established
that
excluded all but Mubarak's line from the top position.
This
custom is formalized in the Kuwaiti constitution and in
practice
created a new pattern of alternation of rulers between the
two
lines of Mubarak's sons, Jabir and Salim. It was in
keeping with
this pattern that Shaykh Jabir al Ahmad (from the Jabir
line)
named as his crown prince and heir apparent Saad al Abd
Allah as
Salim, from the Salim line.
The relationship between the ruling family and Kuwaiti
society also changed in more subtle ways. Members of the
family
other than the ruler, once first among equals in a society
where
merchants and other elites played an important role in
decision
making, became in the years after oil was discovered far
wealthier because their wealth was guaranteed by a civil
list--a
list of sums appropriated to pay the expenses of a ruler
and his
household. Ruling family members also became socially more
prominent and politically more important as they took over
many
of the state's highest posts. In part, this transformation
occurred as a result of the emergence of a large state
bureaucracy and the need Kuwaiti rulers felt to fill the
state's
highest posts with loyal supporters, notably kin.
Data as of January 1993
Ruling Family
Figure 5. Kuwait: Abbreviated Genealogy of the Al 238 Sabah, with
Government Positions, 1992
Source: Based on information from Alan Rush, Al-Sabah:
Genealogy and History of Kuwait's Ruling Family, 1752-1987,
Atantic Highlands, 1987; and United States, Central Intelligence
Agency, Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign
Governments, Washington, 1992, 48-49.
Jabir al Ahmad al Jabir Al Sabah, ruler of Kuwait
Courtesy Embassy of Kuwait, Washington
The modern political history of Kuwait began in the
early
eighteenth century when a number of families of the Bani
Utub
section of the Anaizah tribe migrated from central Arabia,
settling eventually in Kuwait. Once in Kuwait, they
established a
self-governing political unit. The date of 1756 is
conventionally
chosen as the year when the settlers decided to select as
their
leader Sabah, an Al Sabah shaykh, who was succeeded by his
son
Abd Allah, in turn succeeded by his son Jabir. All
subsequent
rulers historically have come from the Al Sabah line,
chosen by
family council, in consultation with the leading merchant
families who, along with the tribal elite, exercise some
restriction over the shaykhs' political autonomy.
The shaykh's primary task was to represent his
community in
foreign policy, negotiating with Ottoman Turkey and with
neighboring tribes. The one major and unsuccessful
challenge to
this system of rule occurred in the 1760s when the Al
Khalifa
family disagreed with the Al Sabah and in consequence left
Kuwait
for Qatar, and then Bahrain, where the Al Khalifa continue
to
rule. Despite the rift, the two settlements maintained
good
relations, including close trade ties.
In the nineteenth century, members of the Al Sabah
oversaw
the growing trade and pearling settlement in Kuwait. The
rulers
also developed a cordial relationship with Britain,
beginning
with the first contacts with the British East India
Company in
1775. As members of a small, vulnerable settlement,
Kuwait's
rulers attempted to maintain a polite but distant
relationship
with all the local powers, notably the British, the
Wahhabis (see Glossary)
of Arabia, and the Ottomans. It was only under
Abd
Allah Al Sabah II, who ruled from 1866 to 1892, that
Kuwait began
to edge away from this policy of neutrality. Abd Allah
developed
close ties with the Ottomans, even taking the Ottoman
title,
albeit largely as a formality, of provincial governor
(qaimaqam) in 1871. In practical terms, Kuwait's
domestic
politics remained unchanged because the Ottoman government
did
not interfere in the selection of rulers and laws. In any
event,
this tilt was completely reversed when, following the
four-year
rule of Muhammad Al Sabah, Mubarak the Great acceded to
the rule
from 1896 to 1915.
Kuwait came into the British sphere of influence at the
end
of the nineteenth century when Mubarak sought British
support
against Ottoman forces. The Ottomans were backing allies
of
Mubarak's brothers, Kuwait's previous rulers, whom Mubarak
had
killed on taking power in 1896. Uneasy about Ottoman
intentions,
Mubarak reversed his predecessors' pro-Ottoman policy and
approached Britain, seeking a more formal alliance.
Britain,
concerned with growing European interests and notably with
an
Ottoman concession to Germany for construction of a
Berlin-to-
Baghdad railroad--with a proposed spur line to
Kuwait--agreed.
Britain signed a treaty with Kuwait in 1899 that promised
Mubarak
British support and, in return, gave Britain control of
Kuwait's
foreign policy. This treaty governed relations between the
two
states until Kuwait's independence in 1961. It granted
Britain
tremendous influence, most notably in foreign and economic
policy.
After Mubarak's death, Kuwait was ruled by two of his
sons,
Jabir Al Sabah (1915-17) and Salim Al Sabah (1917-21)
(see
fig. 5). Thereafter, with one exception, only descendants of
Mubarak
through these two sons would rule Kuwait, thus forming a
major
cleavage within the ruling family. After Salim's death in
1921,
Kuwait was ruled for nearly three decades by Ahmad al
Jabir Al
Sabah. Ahmad al Jabir's rule witnessed a serious effort to
constrain ruling family power. In 1938 a rebellion, known
locally
as the Majlis Movement, developed. New issues arose.
Kuwait was
in the midst of a serious recession as a result of the
general
decline of the pearling industry, the Great Depression,
and a
trade dispute with Saudi Arabia that prompted a Saudi
embargo.
Simultaneously, the recently signed oil concession with
KOC
promised better times ahead if the resulting income were
not
monopolized by the ruling family. To prevent that from
happening,
the leading merchants began petitioning the ruler for a
series of
reforms. In June the merchants took their protest a step
further,
holding elections for a legislative assembly to implement
the
desired reforms using these new revenues. The Legislative
Assembly ruled for six months until finally put down by
the ruler
and his tribal backers. The assembly, however, came to be
viewed
as Kuwait's first prodemocracy movement. Its popularity
gave the
idea of formal representation a place in Kuwaiti popular
history.
Ahmad al Jabir was succeeded by his cousin Abd Allah as
Salim
Al Sabah (1950-65), who oversaw the distribution of now
substantial oil revenues, the consequent emergence of a
large
bureaucratic state, and the transformation of Kuwait into
a
wealthy oil-producing shaykhdom. In terms of internal
developments, Abd Allah as Salim made two transformative
political decisions. The first was to distribute these new
revenues broadly throughout the population, primarily
through
wide-ranging social services, notably education and health
care.
The second was to introduce a greater degree of political
participation to Kuwait in the form of the newly elected
National
Assembly. This body held its first elections in 1963. Abd
Allah
as Salim also oversaw Kuwait's transformation into a
formally
independent state on June 19, 1961, when he and British
representatives signed new letters of friendship to
replace the
treaty of 1899.
When Abd Allah as Salim died in 1965, he was succeeded
by his
brother Sabah as Salim Al Sabah--a somewhat unusual choice
in
that he, like Abd Allah as Salim, came from the Salim line
rather
than the Jabir line of the family, breaking the
alternation
between the two sides of the family that had existed since
the
rule of Mubarak's sons Jabir and Salim. Nonetheless, Sabah
as
Salim's rule proved to be largely a continuation and
consolidation of policies set in place by Abd Allah as
Salim.
When Sabah as Salim died in December 1977, he was
succeeded by
Shaykh Jabir al Ahmad al Jabir Al Sabah, a succession that
returned the former pattern of alternation between the
lines of
Jabir and Salim.
The influence of external events has dominated Jabir al
Ahmad's rule. The first was the Iran-Iraq War, which
rapidly
increased the level of political violence in this
historically
relatively peaceful shaykhdom. Major events included the
1983
bombing of the United States embassy and, probably most
notable,
the dramatic public assassination attempt on the amir in
1985.
The tension associated with the war also exacerbated
divisions
within Kuwaiti society, notably that between Sunnis and
Shia, and
prompted the amir increasingly to limit public
participation in
political life. Although in 1980 Shaykh Jabir al Ahmad
restored
the National Assembly (which Sabah as Salim had abolished
in
1976), the increasing political tension prompted him to do
away
with it again in 1986 and to introduce new measures
curtailing
civil and political rights. These measures prompted a wide
range
of opposition leaders--including old parliamentarians,
Islamists
(sometimes seen as fundamentalists), and merchants--to
form the
Constitutional Movement of 1989-90, a prodemocracy
movement
calling for the restoration of the National Assembly.
The second external event was the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait in
August 1990, which, for the first time in Kuwait's
history,
placed the state under direct foreign rule. Although
sovereignty
was restored in February 1991, events leading up to the
invasion
and the amir's behavior during and after the occupation
prompted
open grumbling about the ruling family itself. The
criticism
centered on the amir and the fact that most of the ruling
family
spent the time of the Iraqi occupation in comfortable
exile
abroad and delayed their return to the country after the
war
ended.
In 1993 Shaykh Jabir al Ahmad still ruled Kuwait; his
designated successor, Prime Minister Saad al Abd Allah as
Salim
Al Sabah, also came from the Al Sabah ruling family.
Although the
Al Sabah remained paramount, the family as a ruling
institution
had changed dramatically since it assumed its leading role
in the
mid-eighteenth century. First, succession patterns within
the
family had changed. In the nineteenth century, rule passed
regularly from father to son. With the accession of
Mubarak in
the late nineteenth century, a new pattern was established
that
excluded all but Mubarak's line from the top position.
This
custom is formalized in the Kuwaiti constitution and in
practice
created a new pattern of alternation of rulers between the
two
lines of Mubarak's sons, Jabir and Salim. It was in
keeping with
this pattern that Shaykh Jabir al Ahmad (from the Jabir
line)
named as his crown prince and heir apparent Saad al Abd
Allah as
Salim, from the Salim line.
The relationship between the ruling family and Kuwaiti
society also changed in more subtle ways. Members of the
family
other than the ruler, once first among equals in a society
where
merchants and other elites played an important role in
decision
making, became in the years after oil was discovered far
wealthier because their wealth was guaranteed by a civil
list--a
list of sums appropriated to pay the expenses of a ruler
and his
household. Ruling family members also became socially more
prominent and politically more important as they took over
many
of the state's highest posts. In part, this transformation
occurred as a result of the emergence of a large state
bureaucracy and the need Kuwaiti rulers felt to fill the
state's
highest posts with loyal supporters, notably kin.
Data as of January 1993
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