Kuwait Taps Harvard-Educated Economist, Diplomat as New Premier

Fiona MacDonald
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Kuwait’s ruler appointed Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah as the country’s new prime minister, looking to the 68-year-old holder of a Harvard University economics doctorate to lay out a new course that could include economic development.

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Sheikh Mohammed, an academic and a former foreign minister who also served as ambassador to the United States, is tasked with forming the first new government since Emir Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah took over after the death of his half brother last month.

How he shapes his first government will be an indicator of the agenda he intends to pursue and a reflection of the way he deals with a parliament that’s been focused more on political reconciliation and popular issues. He must also deal with balancing populist demands and coping with the various regional and international crises that are playing out.

“High expectations can be dangerous,” said Bader Al-Saif, an assistant professor at Kuwait University and a non-resident fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. “Kuwait’s problems are deep and entrenched. No one figure can undo it all at a stroke.”

But the country’s problems are solvable, “granted the right mix of personnel, policies and programs,” he said.

Kuwait is a key US ally in the Middle East, one of the world’s biggest oil exporters and home to a sovereign wealth fund valued at over $700 billion. It has the Gulf Cooperation Council’s only elected parliament.

That kind of pluralism, however, has presented its challenges. The nation, which is one of the world’s wealthiest, has been roiled for years by tussles and political impasses between the government appointed by the ruling Al-Sabah family and the elected lawmakers — tensions not present in neighboring Gulf states whose rulers hold absolute power.

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Those conflicts, which have resulted in the resignation of numerous cabinets over the years, have also taken a toll on the country and came at the expense of economic reform efforts that largely stalled in 2016.

While other Gulf states like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates worked to boost the private sector and bring in foreign companies, Kuwaiti legislators enacted laws that allowed for the state to compete with that sector. Compounding the problems, the focus also shifted to increased social benefits and subsidies which were being demanded by the population.

The country’s new emir is yet to announce an heir apparent. Now that he has named a prime minister, his choice of crown prince is expected to reflect a balance within the different factions of the ruling family.

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