Kuwait names new cabinet line-up formed by newly appointed premier

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

Kuwait names new cabinet line-up formed by newly appointed premier

Kuwait named a new government on Tuesday that retained Mohammad al-Busairi as oil minister, the official Kuwaiti news agency reported.

The emir of the Gulf state last month named the outgoing defense minister, Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah, as the new prime minister, after the resignation of the government during the oil exporter’s deepest political crisis in years.

Sheikh Jaber was appointed to form a new cabinet after former prime minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad al-Sabah quit in the wake of the unrest.

“Sheikh Jaber named Dr. Fadhel Safar Ali Safar as Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs, and Dr. Mohammad Mohsen Al-Busairi as Minister of Oil and Minister of and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs,” a statement on the official Kuwaiti news agency KUNA read.

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“Ahmad Abdulmohsen Al-Mulaifi was named Minister of Justice, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Amani Khaled as Minister of Commerce and Industry, Minister of State for Planning and Development, while Salem Mutheeb Al-Athaina as Minister of Electricity and Water, and Minister of Communications.

“Sheikh Jaber also named Mohammad Abbas Rabee’ Al-Nomas as Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, and Minister of State for Housing Affairs, and re-appointed Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah as Minister of Information,” it added.

Last week, the Kuwaiti emir issued a decree to dissolve parliament.

Opposition lawmaker Hussein Mazyed said that Kuwait was expected to dissolve its parliament in the wake of recent political unrest.

“Dissolving parliament will help resolve our political crisis. I expect the decision to be announced within hours,” Mazyed told reporters outside parliament, according to news agency.

Fresh general elections must now be held within 60 days after the dissolution of the parliament, according to Kuwaiti constitution.

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah has dissolved the house on three occasions since May 2006.

In recent weeks, Kuwaiti ministers have stepped down in protest against the strained political situation in the country and the government’s treatment of demonstrators.

Hundreds of opposition activists overran parliament on November 16 after clashes with riot police that followed a large protest to demand the prime minister’s resignation and the dissolution of parliament.

The opposition and youth activists had accused the former prime minister of failure to fight corruption and manage the oil-rich Gulf state effectively and had launched a campaign since March

Kuwait, OPEC’s third largest producer, pumps around 3 million barrels of crude oil per day. It has a native population of 1.2 million people, besides 2.4 million foreign residents.

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