Kuwaits new Cabinet line-up

Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al- Sabah, HH the Prime Minister

He holds a BA in Political Science from Kuwait University in 1977. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978 with the rank of a diplomatic attaché and worked in the Political Department, the Arab Affairs Department from 1978 to 1983, then joined the permanent Kuwaiti delegation to the United Nations in New York between 1983 and 1989 and was appointed as Deputy Director of the Arab World Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1989 and took over the Department of the Undersecretary’s Office Foreign 1992.

He served as Kuwait’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and the country’s delegate to the Organization of the Islamic Conference from 1995 to 1998, during which he participated in the ministerial council meetings of GCC foreign ministers. In 1998 a decree was issued appointing him as the head of the National Security Agency with the rank of a minister, and he was appointed Minister of Social Affairs and Labor in July 2006 to March 2007 and then Minister of Information in May 2007 and January 2009.

He received the Foreign Ministry portfolio in 2011 and was appointed in February 2012 as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, and he was reappointed in December 2012 as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In January 2014, an Amiri decree was issued appointing him as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and in December 2016 he resumed the same ministerial portfolio, and in December 2017 he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.

On November 19, 2019, the late Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, issued an Amiri order appointing him as Prime Minister and assigning him to nominate members of the new government. In the same year, an Amiri order was issued to address him with the title His Highness. His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled received the King Abdulaziz Medal of the First Class from the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz in 1998 and received the Order of the Two Niles of the First Class from Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir in 2012 and received the Order of the Republic with the rank of Senior Officer (The National Lion) from Senegalese President Macky Sall in 2015, and he was also awarded the Grand Star of the Star of Jerusalem Medal from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in 2018. The new government that Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled was tasked with choosing its members on the eighth of this month is his second after the first government he formed in December 2019.

Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense

He holds a BA in Political Science from Kuwait University in 1989. He was the Minister of Information from November 2011 until February 2012 and was previously the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from February 2007 to November 2011 and between 2003 and 2006 he held the position of Director of the Office of His Highness the Crown Prince with the rank of Undersecretary. Between 1998 and 2001, he held the position of Assistant Undersecretary for External Equipment Affairs at the Ministry of Defense and Head of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and also worked in the Kuwaiti Embassy in Italy, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and a political researcher in the Office of the Minister of Interior.

Anas Khaled Nasser Al-Saleh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs

He holds a BA in Business Administration from Portland State University, USA, in 1997. He took over the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in February 2012 and was assigned the position of Minister of Housing Affairs in the same year. He held the Ministry of Finance in January 2014 and the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance in January 2015 in addition to the Acting Ministry of Oil, and also held the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs in December 2017 and was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior, Minister for Cabinet Affairs in December 2019.

Essa Ahmed Muhammad Hassan Al- Kandari, Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs

He holds a specialized diploma from a commercial institute, in banking, and was appointed as Minister of Transportation and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs in 2013 and a member of the Board of Directors of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training. Prior to that, he worked at the Kuwait Airways Corporation as a development and research expert and won membership in the National Assembly in 2013, 2016 and 2020 and held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Council of Nations in 2016. He is a member of the Kuwaiti Journalists Association, the Arab Journalists Association, a member of the Human Rights Association, and a board member of the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Dr Mohammad Al-Fares, Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Kuwait University in 1987, a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, USA in 1990, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the same university in 1995. He held the position of Assistant Deputy Director of Kuwait University for Planning in 2002, Director of the Construction Program in the Major Projects Management Authority at Kuwait University in 2007, the position of Secretary General of Kuwait University in 2016, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education in 2016 and a member of the Board of Directors of the Petroleum Corporation.

Sheikh Dr Basel Hmoud Hamad Al-Sabah, Minister of Health

He holds a medical degree from Kuwait University in 1999 and a doctorate degree (Canadian Board) in the specialty of Otolaryngology in 2006 from McGill University, Canada. He took over the Ministry of Health in the governmental formation in 2017 as well as in 2019, and he also held many positions, including a consultant doctor at Zain Hospital in 2007 and head of the ENT departments in 2012. He also held the position of Director of the (Sheikh Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah) Center for Hearing and Speech Therapy between 2010 and 2012 and worked as a lecturer at the College of Medicine at Kuwait University.

Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al- Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs

He holds a BA in International Relations, a Bachelor’s Degree in Foreign Living Languages, and a Masters degree from the University of Strasbourg for Human Sciences in France in 1993 and obtained a Master’s Degree in 1995 in International Relations and Translation from the same university, and in 2000 he obtained a PhD in Political Science from the Sorbonne University in France. He assumed the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs in December 2019 and held several positions before that, including Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Offi ce of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and chairing the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Fund for Development.

Dr Rana Abdullah Abdul Rahman Al- Fares, Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs

She holds a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Kuwait University in 1996, a Master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Southern California in 1999, a diploma in geographic information systems in 2001, and a doctorate from the same university in the fi eld of geotechnical engineering in 2004. She held the position of Minister of Public Works and Minister of Housing Affairs in December 2019. She held many positions, including a faculty member in the College of Engineering and Petroleum, director of the construction program at the university from 2009 to 2014, deputy chairman of the Board of Directors of “tenders”, and assistant undersecretary for government follow-up in the government performance monitoring body.

Mubarak Salem Mubarak Al-Harees, Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in law from Kuwait University in 1989 and was a member of Parliament in 2013 and 2016. He held the position of Minister of State for Services Affairs and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs in the government formation that was announced in December 2019, and before that he worked as a legal researcher in the offi ce of the Central Bank Governor in 1990 and a lawyer in the Fatwa and Legislation Department in 1991, the head of the Legislation Development Committee in the Fatwa Administration, and the Chairman of the Committee for Formulating Takaful Insurance Laws. He worked as a private lawyer in 1996 and a member and treasurer of the Kuwaiti Bar Association 2000.

Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Minister of Interior

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Administrative Leadership from the University of Arkansas, USA, 1999, and a General Management Diploma from the Institute of Business Studies, 1995. On September 11, 2013, he was appointed head of the National Security Agency, with the rank of a minister, and he had held the position of deputy head of the agency, where he worked since 2000 and graduated to become director of the agency’s head offi ce from 2002 to 2006, and acting head of the agency in 2006. He was a member of the NATO Defense College Foundation Advisory Board in 2016 in recognition of his vision and strategic role of Kuwait in regional security.

Khalifa Musa’ad Hamada, Minister of Finance

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Kuwait University in 1987. He held the position of Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance from 2007 to 2018 and held the position of Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance for Public Accounting Affairs in 2005 as he was included in the Ministry from an accountant in the Department of Guidance and Systems in 1987 to Director of the Department in 1996.

Abdulrahman Badah Al-Mutairi, Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs

He holds a BA in Psychology from Kuwait University. He held the position of Director General of the Public Authority for Youth in 2016, Assistant Undersecretary for the Youth Development Sector in the Office of the Minister of State for Youth Affairs 2014-2015, Director of the Technical Office Department of the Office of the Minister of Information 2012, Observer of the Office of the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information 2011, and a Media Attaché in the Kuwaiti Media Office in Rabat 2004-2007.

Dr Abdullah Abdul Samad Marafi , Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for Services Affairs

He holds a BA in Statistics from Kuwait University in 1989, a Management Diploma in 2002, a Master of Administration in 2003 and a PhD in Management and Finance Philosophy from the American University in Britain in 2007. Member of the Board of Directors of the Federation of Kuwaiti Shipping Agents Companies, Chairman of the Board of Directors of “Omniyat Holding” 2018, a member of the Board of Directors of Kuwait Airways in 2013, a member of the Board of Directors of Kuwait International Bank 2010, a member of the Board of Directors of the Arab Financial Advisors Company in 1997 and a member of the Board of Directors of Al-Ahli Bank of Kuwait in 1995 and Chairman Board of Directors of Burgan Group Holding Company in 2005.

Dr Ali Fahad Al-Mudhaf, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education

He holds a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering from the US in 1983, a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from US in 1988 and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Britain in 2000. Director General of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in 2018 and Director General of the Public Authority for Industry in 2006 and worked as an assistant professor at the General Authority for Medical Education and Training and Associate Professor at the Authority and obtained a member of the Higher Committee for the Professional Qualifi cations System, membership of the Executive Council of the Arab Organization for Industrial Development and membership of the Board of Directors of the Gulf Organization for Consulting Industrial and many local authorities.

Faisal Abdul Rahman Al-Medlej, Minister of Trade, Commerce and Industry and Minister of State for Economic Affairs

He holds a BA in Accounting from Kuwait University in 1987. He held the position of President of the Development Authority of the Sabian City of Silk and Boubyan Island and the Chairman of the Executive Committee therein with the rank of Minister from April 2018 until April 2019 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tamdeen Real Estate Company (Lebanon) 2001 and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Chairman of the Internal Audit Committee of the National United Bank in 2002 and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Arch Real Estate Investment 2010 and a member of the executive body for the Reem Real Estate Project (Egypt) 2009, President of the Kuwait Economic Association and a member of the Kuwaiti Association of Accountants and Auditors.

Dr Nawaf Saud Al-Yassin, Minister of Justice

He holds a Doctorate in Law from Britain. He worked as a legal advisor in the Credit Bank, a legal advisor in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, a certifi ed arbitrator in the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a lawyer before the Constitutional and Cassation Courts.