Kuwait saw a quick transition to a new emir on Saturday following the death at 86 of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah after three years in power.
Article continues below
In the statement broadcasted on state TV, Al-Kandari announced a 40-day mourning period to commemorate the passing of Emir Nawaf, the 16th Emir of Kuwait.
He was succeeded by his half-brother, Sheikh Meshal, who takes over the oil-rich Gulf kingdom at the age of 83, state television reported.
Sheikh Meshal, who had already assumed some key constitutional duties of the emir in 2021, has spent most of his career in Kuwait's security and intelligence apparatus, keeping a distance from the often bitter disputes within the royal family.
A father of 12, Sheikh Meshal becomes Kuwait's 17th ruler. He will have a year to name a new crown prince amid speculation on whether he will appoint an heir from a younger generation.
Meshal was deputy chief of the Kuwait National Guard from 2004 to 2020, and was named crown prince when Sheikh Nawaf took power.
He spent many years in the interior ministry, rising through the ranks to head the department of general investigation from 1967 until 1980 where he was credited for strengthening its function as a state security service.
His predecessor's reign was short but tumultuous, marked by deep political turmoil and economic challenges triggered by a fall in oil prices that have left Kuwait lagging its wealthy Gulf neighbours, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
State TV cut its regular programming and switched to a broadcast of a Koranic recital before announcing Sheikh Nawaf's death.
"With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn... the death of Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait," said a statement on state TV.
Public offices will shut for three days and 40 days of mourning were declared.
Sheikh Nawaf, who will be laid to rest on Sunday, had been hospitalised in November for an undisclosed "emergency", but had been said to be in a stable condition.
Sheikh Nawaf's rule saw three parliamentary elections in as many years, and there have been five different government cabinets in 2023. ■
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced a lawsuit against Global Fiberglass Solutions (GFS) and its executives, Donald Lilly and Ronald Albrecht, for violations of Iowa’s solid waste laws.