| House of Sabah آل صباح | |
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| Parent house | Bani Utbah |
| Country | Kuwait |
| Founded | c. 1752 |
| Founder | Sabah I |
| Current head | Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah |
| Titles | |
| Traditions | Sunni |
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| Constitution |
Judiciary |
Administration |
 Kuwait portal |
TheHouse of Sabah (Arabic:آل صباحĀl Ṣabāḥ) is the royal family that ruledKuwait since 1752 and founded bySabah I.
The Al Sabah family originate from theBani Utbah confederation.[1][2] Prior to settling in Kuwait, the Al Sabah family were expelled fromUmm Qasr in southern Iraq by theOttomans due to their predatory habits of preying on caravans inBasra and trading ships in theShatt al-Arab.[3] According to one oral tradition, the Al Sabah family settled across various regions in southernIran andIraq,[1] until they finally settled in what is now Kuwait around the mid-1700s.[1] According to another oral tradition, told to the Political Agent by Shaikh Abdulla, the Sabahs fled drought in central Arabia in the early 1700s. They migrated south, but finding conditions bleaker still, returned and now with other families migrated toZubara, on Qatar's west coast. Conditions there were no better so they migrated again, this time north to Kuwait where, finding water, they settled. On the last leg of the journey they hadatabu-ila al-shimal (moved to the north). And that, according to one tradition, was the origin of the name Bani Utub.[4] Soon after founding a settlement in Kuwait, aSabah became leader, ruling until his death in 1762.
The reign ofMubarak the Great (1896–1915) forged the critical alliance between Kuwait and Britain. In the late 19th century, resurgent Ottoman power coupled with risingAl-Saud power drew Kuwait closer to theOttomans. This began to change as the century closed. WhenSheikh Mohammed came to power in 1892, disagreements soon arose between him and his brother Mubarak. Muhammad dealt with this by busying Mubarak with affairs outside the capital. In 1896 he summoned his sons,Jabir andSalim, and some supporters and rode to Kuwait, secretly entering Muhammed's house. There he killed Muhammed and his brother Jarrah. In the morning, Mubarak announced that his brothers had died, and that he ruled in their stead.[4]
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah ended the British protectorate status of Kuwait by signing a treaty with theBritish on 19 June 1961. He introduced theConstitution of Kuwait in 1962, followed by theParliament in 1963.[5]
During the Gulf War, the Emir of KuwaitSheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and his government ran the exiled government from a hotel inTa'if, Saudi Arabia.[4]
From Ta'if, Sheikh Jaber set up his government so that its ministers were in communication with the people still inKuwait. The government was able to direct an underground armed resistance made up of both military and civilian forces and was able to provide public services to the Kuwaiti people who remained, such as emergency care through the funds that it had saved from oil revenues.[6] In the meantime, Sheikh Jaber and his government lobbied to receive military support action against Iraq before and during the Gulf War. When the war ended on 28 February 1991, Sheikh Jaber remained in Saudi Arabia while declaring three months ofmartial law.[7]
By imposing martial law, government officials were able to ensure that there were no Iraqis still in Kuwait who may have attempted to once again overthrow the government. They were also tasked with making sure that the country was safe enough for Sheikh Jaber and his government to return, which they eventually did on 15 March 1991.[7]
Kuwaiti political scientist Mohammed Alwuhaib has argued that "members of the Al Sabah [have] interfered in and manipulated political and economic factions as a tool to weaken each other, with allegations of corruption a particularly common tactic."[8][9]
In August 2011, supporters of SheikhAhmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah "discovered" documents that incriminated up to one-third of Kuwaiti politicians in what quickly became the largest political corruption scandal in Kuwaiti history.[10] By October 2011, 16 Kuwaiti politicians were alleged to have received payments of $350m in return for their support of government policy.[11]
In December 2013, allies of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad claimed to possess tapes purportedly showing that SheikhNasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah andJassem Al-Kharafi were discussing plans to topple the Kuwaiti government.[12][11] Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad appeared on local channelAl-Watan TV describing his claims.[13]
In April 2014 the Kuwaiti government imposed a totalmedia blackout to ban any reporting or discussion on the issue.[14] In March 2015, Kuwait's public prosecutor dropped all investigations into the alleged coup plot and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad read a public apology on Kuwait state television renouncing the coup allegations.[15] Since then, "numerous associates of his have been targeted and detained by the Kuwaiti authorities on various charges,"[11] most notably members of the so-called "Fintas Group" that had allegedly been the original circulators of the fake coup video.[11][16]
In December 2015, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad was convicted of "disrespect to the public prosecutor and attributing a remark to the country's ruler without a special permission from the emir's court," issuing a suspended six-month prison sentence and a fine of 1,000 Kuwaiti Dinar. In January 2016, the Kuwaiti appeals court overturned the prior ruling and cleared Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad of all charges.[17]
In November 2018, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad, along with four other defendants, were charged in Switzerland withforgery related to the fake coup video.[18] Shortly thereafter, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad temporarily stepped aside from his role at theInternational Olympic Committee, pending an ethics committee hearing into the allegations.[19][20] In August 2021, Sheikh Ahmed attended court alongside three of the other four defendants.[21][22] In September 2021, Sheikh Ahmed was convicted of forgery along with the four other defendants.[23][24] He denied wrongdoing and plans to appeal.[24]
In November 2019, former deputy prime minister and minister of interiorSheikh Khaled Al Jarrah Al Sabah was dismissed from office after minister of defenseSheikh Nasser Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah filed a complaint with the Kuwaiti Attorney General alleging embezzlement of 240 million Kuwaiti dinars ($794.5 million) of Kuwait government funds had taken place during Khaled's tenure as minister of defense.[25] In July 2020, theUS Department of Justice filed anasset forfeiture claim againstThe Mountain Beverly Hills and other real property in the United States, alleging a group of three Kuwaiti officials, including Sheikh Khaled Al Jarrah, set up unauthorized accounts in the name of the country's Military Attache Office in London, known as the 'Army Fund.' They allegedly funded the accounts with over $100m of Kuwaiti public money and used it for their own purposes.[26] In March 2021, the Kuwaiti ministerial court ordered the detention of Khaled Al Jarrah, who was arrested and imprisoned.[27]
On 13 April 2021, a Kuwaiti court ordered the detention of former prime ministerSheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on corruption charges related to the 'Army Fund.'[28] He is the first former Kuwaiti prime minister to face pre-trial detention overgraft charges.[29] The crimes allegedly took place during Jaber Al-Sabah's 2001–11 term as defense minister.[28]
Chieftain Sheikhs of the House of Sabah have been leading theMilitary of Kuwait since the early establishment of defenseinfantry andcavalry forces.[32][33][34] 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.[35]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)| International | |
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