Mohammed Jassem Al-Sager (; born 18 June 1951) is a Kuwaiti journalist, businessman, and politician.

Background

Al-Sager received a bachelor's degree in economics from

Whittier College Whittier College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Whittier, California. It is a Hispanic-serving institution, Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and, as of spring 2024, had 815 ...

(California, US) in 1975. He then worked for five years at the Industrial Bank of Kuwait, where he became Corporate Finance Manager. In 1980, he left the bank to become Chairman and Managing Director of Coast Investment & Development Co.

Journalism

In 1983 he began working as a journalist, serving as editor-in-chief of ''

Al-Qabas ''Al-Qabas'' () is an Arabic daily Kuwaiti newspaper and tabloid published by Dar Al Qabas Press Printing Publishing and Distribution Company in Kuwait City. History and profile ''Al-Qabas'' was launched on 22 February 1972. The founding share ...

'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

: "The Firebrand"), a daily newspaper. He continued in the role until his election to Parliament in 1999. In 1992 he was awarded the International Press Freedom Award of the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...

"for courageous reporting on political and human rights issues in the face of government threats of censorship and prosecution". Along with colleague Ibrahim Marzouk, he was sentenced to six months in prison in 1998 on charges of "insulting the essence of the Divine Being", following the publication of a joke on ''Al-Qabas'''s "Entertainment" page: "Why did God expel

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

from paradise? Because they did not pay the rent." The newspaper was also closed for one week. The Committee to Protect Journalists protested the men's sentences, which were overturned by an appeals court in January 1999.

Political career

Al-Sager served in the

National Assembly of Kuwait The National Assembly (, ''Majlis al-ʾUmma'') is the unicameral legislature of Kuwait. The National Assembly met in Kuwait City. The National Assembly is made up of 50 elected members and 16 directly appointed government ministers (ex officio me ...

from 1999 to 2009. While political parties are technically illegal in Kuwait, Al-Sager affiliates with the liberal

National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

party. From 2005 to 2009, he also served as Chairman of the Arab Parliament, in which role he worked with King

Abdullah Abdullah may refer to: * Abdullah (name), a list of people with the given name or surname * Abdullah, Kargı, Turkey, a village * ''Abdullah'' (film), a 1980 Bollywood film directed by Sanjay Khan * '' Abdullah: The Final Witness'', a 2015 Pakis ...

of Saudi Arabia and President

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

of Egypt to promote a reconciliation between battling Palestinian factions

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

and

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

. Al-Sager is also a member of the General Secretariat of the New York-based

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

. In May 2009, Al-Sager joined several other Kuwaiti MPs in declining to run for re-election to the Kuwaiti National Assembly. Al-Sager stated that he believed the next parliament would "also fail to implement the awaited reforms", these being an

economic stimulus In economics, stimulus refers to attempts to use monetary policy or fiscal policy (or stabilization policy in general) to stimulate the economy. Stimulus can also refer to monetary policies such as lowering interest rates and quantitative e ...

bill and a boost to the country's

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

. In April 2020, Al Sager was elected Chairman of the board of the

Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) () is a non-government institution representing business establishments in Kuwait. The Chamber acts on the behalf of, represents and lobbies for the interests of businesspersons and industrialists i ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sager, Mohammed 1951 births Kuwaiti journalists Living people Members of the National Assembly (Kuwait) National Democratic Alliance (Kuwait) politicians