Security-minded Royal to be Kuwait’s Crown Prince

Sheikh Meshaal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, a brother of Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, the 91-year-old emir who died last week, is to be the country’s next crown prince. According to KUNA, the Kuwaiti state news agency, he was named on Wednesday by Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, the new emir and previous crown prince. Born in 1940, Meshaal is of the same generation as both Nawaf and Sabah, bucking a trend in the region to appoint members of a new generation to be next in line. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, is 59. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is just 35. Meshaal’s nomination requires approval from parliament. He has never been publicly outspoken within the Gulf state, remaining away from public feuds that have often besieged the country. As deputy chief of the National Guard, a post he has held since 2004, he is credited with helping push through critical reforms. Prior to that, he spent 13 years as head of the state’s security apparatuses and held other senior positions in the Interior Ministry.