House of Sabah

House of Al Sabah
آل صباح
House of Al Sabah; آل صباح
	Emblem and Flag of Kuwait
Parent house	Bani Utbah
Country	Kuwait
Founded	c. 1752
Founder	Sabah I
Current head	Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber
Titles	Emir; Crown Prince;
Traditions	Islam (Sunni)

The House of Al Sabah (Arabic: آل صباح Āl Ṣubāḥ) is the ruling family of Kuwait.

History

The family originated from the Utub federation.

Emir

The Emir of Kuwait is the head of state. He is nominated by a family council headed by prominent members of the family. The National Assembly has the constitutional right to approve and disapprove of an Emir's appointment under Article 4 of the Constitution of Kuwait, therefore the parliament has the authority to remove an Emir from his post. The parliament effectively removed Saad al-Sabah from his post in 2006 due to his illness.

Crown Prince

The crown prince has to be a senior member of the House. He is nominated by a family council headed by prominent members of the family. The appointment of a crown prince requires approval by an absolute majority of the members of the Kuwaiti parliament, the National Assembly. If the new crown prince fails to win approval from the National Assembly, the Emir submits three eligible members of the family for consideration, and the National Assembly selects one to be the crown prince. The National Assembly also determines the Emir's salary.^[1]

Rulers

1st Ruler: Sheikh Sabah I bin Jaber: 1752–1762
2nd Ruler: Sheikh Abdullah I: 1762–1814
3rd Ruler: Sheikh Jaber I: 1814–1859
4th Ruler: Sheikh Sabah II: 1859–1866
5th Ruler: Sheikh Abdallah II: 1866–1893
6th Ruler: Sheikh Muhammad Al-Sabah: 1893–1896
7th Ruler: Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah: 1896–1915
8th Ruler: Sheikh Jaber II: 1915–1917
9th Ruler: Sheikh Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah: 1917–1921
10th Ruler: Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah: 1921–1950
11th Ruler 1st Emir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah: 1950–1965
12th Ruler 2nd Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah: 1965–1977
13th Ruler 3rd Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah: 1977–2006
14th Ruler 4th Emir Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah: (15–29 January 2006)
15th Ruler 5th Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah: (2006–2020)
16th Ruler 6th Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah: (2020–present)

Dean of the House

Chieftain, Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah (b. 1926)^[2]^[3]

Governing branches

Succession to the throne of Kuwait is limited to the descendants of Mubarak Al-Sabah. The reigning emir must appoint an heir apparent within one year of his accession to the throne; the nomination needs approval by the majority of members of Kuwait's parliament, the National Assembly. If the new crown prince fails to win approval from the National Assembly, the Emir submits three eligible members of the family for consideration, and the National Assembly selects one to be the crown prince.

The Crown Prince has to be a senior member of the House of Sabah. The position of Emir is also traditionally alternated between the two main branches of the House of Sabah, the Al-Ahmed and Al-Salem branches. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Emir, however the appointment of the prime minister requires approval from the majority of members of the National Assembly parliament.

Chieftain Sheikhs of the House of Sabah have been leading the Military of Kuwait since the early establishment of defense infantry and cavalry forces.^[4]^[5]^[6] Since the forming of the first cabinet on 17 January 1962, all three of the defense ministry, interior ministry and ministry of foreign affairs of Kuwait have been led by members of the House of Sabah.^[7] By government protocol, defense, interior and foreign affairs ministers are deputy prime ministers of Kuwait; unlike the defense protocol minister of the Kuwait National Guard.