Al-Sabah

The House of Sabah ( ''Āl Ṣabāḥ'') is the ruling family of Kuwait.

History

Origin

The Al Sabah family originate from the Bani Utbah confederation. Prior to settling in Kuwait, the Al Sabah family were expelled from Umm Qasr in southern Iraq by the Ottomans due to their predatory habits of preying on caravans in Basra and trading ships in the Shatt al-Arab. According to one oral tradition, the Al Sabah family settled across various regions in southern Iran and Iraq, until they finally settled in what is now Kuwait around the mid-1700s. 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 to Zubara, 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 had ''atabu-ila al-shimal'' (moved to the north). And that, according to one tradition, was the origin of the name Bani Utub. Soon after founding a settlement in Kuwait, a Sabah became leader, ruling until his death in 1762.

Mubarak the Great

The reign of Mubarak the Great (1896-1915) forged the critical alliance between Kuwait and Britain. In the late 19th century, resurgent Ottoman power coupled with rising Al-Saud power drew Kuwait closer to the Ottomans. This began to change as the century closed. When Sheikh 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 and Salim, 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.

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah ended the British protectorate status of Kuwait by signing a treaty with the British on 19 June 1961. He introduced the Constitution of Kuwait in 1962, followed by the Parliament in 1963.

Gulf War

During the Gulf War, the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and his government ran the exiled government from a hotel in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia.

From Ta'if, Sheikh Jaber set up his government so that its ministers were in communication with the people still in Kuwait. 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. 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 of martial law.

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.

Public feuds

Kuwaiti political scientist Mohammed Alwuhaib has argued that "members of the Al Sabah aveinterfered in and manipulated political and economic factions as a tool to weaken each other, with allegations of corruption a particularly common tactic."

In August 2011, supporters of Sheikh Ahmed 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. By October 2011, 16 Kuwaiti politicians were alleged to have received payments of $350m in return for their support of government policy.

In December 2013, allies of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad claimed to possess tapes purportedly showing that Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah and Jassem Al-Kharafi

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