Kuwaiti City: Kuwait plunged into deep sorrow as Emir His Highness Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah died yesterday after prolonged illness. Crown Prince Shaikh Sa'ad Al Abdullah Al Sabah became the Emir.
"According to the constitution ... and in accordance with the rules of succession, the cabinet calls on the heir and crown prince ... as Emir of the country," said a cabinet statement read out on state television.
UAE President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan joined a large number of people, including heads of states and official delegates of a number of Arab and Muslim countries, to offer special prayers for the dead for and the burial of Shaikh Jaber.
Shaikh Khalifa offered his deep condolences to the new Emir Shaikh Sa'ad Prime Minister Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah and to the Al Sabah family. He prayed to Allah to grant the soul of the deceased perfect peace and the Al Sabah family and the Kuwaiti people the patience to bear the loss.
Arab dignitaries, including Jordan's King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia also paid their respects.
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani led a delegation to the funeral.
Shaikh Jaber's body was buried in a simple, sand grave lined with white stones in the Sulaibikhat cemetery.
Welfare system
Thousands of Kuwaitis and expatriates, some carrying posters of Shaikh Jaber, jostled with armed security forces to pay their respects to their leader.
Women clad in traditional abayas wept as the emir's body was lowered in to the ground and covered with earth amid chants of La Ilah Illa Allah.
Shaikh Jaber, 79, who ascended the throne on December 31, 1977, ushered in unprecedented prosperity bolstered by a cradle-to-the-grave welfare system for nationals.
After US-led forces ended a seven-month occupation by Iraq on February 26, 1991, he rebuilt the country. Shaikh Jaber also oversaw the rehabilitation of oilfields set on fire by retreating Iraqi troops.
The late Emir's legacy included the creation of a Reserve Fund for Future Generations (RFFG), a powerful instrument that channelled the state's surplus funds into long-term investments.
Women also won the right to vote and run for office during Jaber's reign.
40-day mourning
During his rule, Shaikh Jaber also steered Kuwait through the 1980-88 war between neighbours Iraq and Iran, and violence by pro-Iranian militants who tried to assassinate him in 1985.
A 40-day period of mourning was declared in Kuwait, Government offices will be closed for three days and flags were flown at half-mast over government buildings.
