Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al-Sabah died on Saturday at the age of 86, the Emir’s Palace announced, after a three-year term marked by successive political conflicts at the helm of the oil-rich Gulf state. AFP reports.

“It is with great sadness that we mourn the death of Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait,” said a statement carried by Kuwait’s state television.

Before the announcement, state television interrupted its program and broadcast verses from the Koran.

Sheikh Nawaf was hospitalized in late November “due to an urgent health problem,” according to the official KUNA news agency, which did not provide details of his illness. He was later listed in stable condition.

Given his age, his health was often a source of concern during his tenure.

Sheikh Nawaf was appointed Crown Prince in 2006 by his half-brother, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, and became Emir when he died in September 2020 at the age of 91.

Kuwait, an oil-rich Gulf state, has been plunged into a deep crisis for several years due to conflicts between the executive and legislative powers, which has negatively affected the chances of reforming the state.

The current Crown Prince Mechal al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, the emir’s half-brother, is 83 years old, and the question now is whether the royal family will choose a younger leader after all.

Kuwait, a conservative country where power remains concentrated in the hands of the Al Sabah ruling family, is nevertheless home to the most active and powerful parliament in the Persian Gulf.