Sabah, Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al- (1926-2006), usually called Sheikh Jaber, was emir (leader) of Kuwait from 1977 to 2006. He was the third son of Ahmad al-Jaber, who ruled Kuwait from 1921 to 1950.
Sheikh Jaber was born on June 29, 1926. His first major public responsibility concerned the Kuwait Oil Company, which he headed from 1950 to 1954. From 1960 to 1964, Sheikh Jaber was involved in a broad range of financial and economic matters. He became prime minister in 1965 and was named the heir to the emir in 1966.
Sheikh Jaber served again as prime minister in 1977. In December 1977, he succeeded his cousin Sheikh Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah as emir. In 1981, he restored parliament, which had been suspended in 1976. But he suspended it again in 1986. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Sheikh Jaber escaped to Saudi Arabia. He returned to Kuwait in March 1991 after the Iraqi forces had been driven out. In October 1992, Kuwaitis elected a new 50-member National Assembly.
Sheikh Jaber died on Jan. 15, 2006. His cousin Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Salim al-Sabah automatically succeeded him as emir. However, the Kuwaiti parliament voted to remove him from the throne because of his poor health. The parliament unanimously approved Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, who had been prime minister since 2003, as emir.
