WORLD: REST OF WORLD
Kuwait's ailing emir abdicates after agreement
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
AP
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait's ailing emir, Sheik Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, has abdicated following an agreement within the ruling family, a lawmaker has said.
Yesterday's abdication paves the way for the prime minister and longtime de facto ruler, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, to become the country's new emir, and ends an unprecedented public quarrel inside the ruling family.
"An agreement has been reached in the family and he will sign the abdication papers tomorrow (today)," parliamentarian Nasser al-Saneh told The Associated Press.
He said the two struggling camps of the family met last evening in order to reach a compromise before a parliament session today that was to debate Cabinet demands that the ailing new emir be ousted in favor of the Sheik Sabah.
A swearing-in ceremony for Sheik Saad had been planned for Tuesday evening. It was not yet known when Sheik Sabah would take the oath as emir.
Sheik Sabah, the prime minister, has been running the day-to-day affairs of the country since the late emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and his successor and the then-crown prince, Sheik Saad, both fell ill.
Both Sheik Saad and Sheik Sabah are in their mid-70s - their exact ages are not known - but Sheik Sabah is the more fit of the two. He had a heart pacemaker implanted but otherwise is said to be in good health.
Copyright © 2006Times Internet Limited.