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Kuwait's PM unveils new Cabinet, names new oil, finance ministers

December 14, 2020
The new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah was approved by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. — Kuwait News Agency
The new Cabinet led by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah was approved by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. — Kuwait News Agency

KUWAIT — Kuwait’s Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah unveiled on Monday a new Cabinet after taking the oath of office earlier in the day.

The new Cabinet, which will be inaugurated on Tuesday, was approved by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Kuwait News Agency reported.

Sheikh Sabah along with his Cabinet had stepped down in a procedural move following parliamentary elections.

Kuwaiti PM has picked new finance and oil ministers as the government seeks tide over the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented plunge in oil prices.

According to the KUNA, Khalifa Hamada was named finance minister. He was a former undersecretary at the ministry and Mohammad Abdulatif Al-Fares, who sits on the board of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, was named oil, electricity and water minister.

Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah also retained his post in the new Cabinet.

Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah was named defense minister. The interior ministry was given to an Al-Sabah family member after having been held by a minister from outside the ruling family in the previous Cabinet.

Fares, who replaces Khaled Al-Fadhel, has a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Wisconsin, is a board member of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp, though most of his career has been spent in education. He previously served on the cabinet as minister of education until December 2017. Before that, he was secretary-general of Kuwait University in 2016 and directed its construction program from 2007.

The complete Cabinet lineup is the following:

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

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

— Essa Al-Kandari, Minister of Social Affairs, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs

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

— Sheikh Dr. Basel Al-Sabah, Minister of Health

— Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah, Foreign Minister

— Dr. Rana Al-Fares, Minister of Public Works, Minister of State for Municipal Affairs

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

— Sheikh Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, Interior Minister

— Khalifa Hamada, Minister of Finance

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

— Abdullah Marafi, Minister of State for Housing Affairs and Minister of State for Services

— Dr. Ali Al-Mudhaf, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education

— Faisal Al-Medlej, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Minister of State for Economic Affairs

— Dr. Nawaf Al-Yassin, Minister of Justice


December 14, 2020
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