Who is Kuwait's new emir Sheikh Mishal al-Ahmad al-Sabah?

Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has been named as Kuwait's new emir following the death of Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the 86-year-old former ruler of the oil-rich country on Saturday.

Mishal was born on September 27, 1940, to Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the ninth ruler of the Sheikhdom of Kuwait. His father, Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, was the ruler of Kuwait from 1921 to 1950. 

The paternal younger half-brother of three successive emirs of Kuwait, namely Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (1977–2006), Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2006–2020), and Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (2020–2023), Mishal is Ahmad’s eighth son.

After completing his elementary education at Kuwait's Al Mubarakiya School, Mishal travelled to Great Britain to enroll in the Hendon Police College, where he eventually graduated in 1960. 

Mishal began working for the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior (MOI) after receiving his degree from Hendon.

In 2006, not long after his half-brother Sabah assumed the throne, Mishal was regarded as one of the Al-Sabah royal family's top three decision-makers. 

Mishal allegedly declined more prominent positions throughout his time there in order to stay out of political controversies and keep his family ties intact.

Crown Prince Mishal declared the dissolution of the Kuwait National Assembly on April 17, 2023, claiming in a television address legislation that entitled the emir to do so in reaction to political unrest and impasse in Kuwait.

Mishal has also represented Kuwait at significant international occasions, such as Hussein, the Crown Prince of Jordan,'s wedding in 2023 and Queen Elizabeth II's state burial at Westminster Abbey in London in 2022.