After approximately one month of assigning Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah as a prime minister, he revealed the new government's lineup on Tuesday. It included seven new ministers, among them three females.
After the swearing-in, Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah urged the new government to abide by the constitution and to protect public money.
“This cannot be fulfilled without hard work, supportive team spirit and fruitful and constructive cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities,” he said.
The Emir continued: “You have a major responsibility towards the nation and the citizen, especially at this important stage.”
Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Anas Khaled Nasser Al-Saleh was appointed Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs.
Khaled Nasser Al-Roudhan was named Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mohammad Nasser Al-Jabri as Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth affairs, Dr. Basel Humoud Al-Sabah as Minister of Health, and Dr. Fahad Mohammad Al-Afasi as Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs.
Dr. Khaled Ali Al-Fadhel was appointed Minister of Oil and Minister of Electricity and Water, Mariam Aqeel Al-Aqeel was named Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of State for Economic Affairs, and Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Dr. Rana Abdullah Al-Fares was named Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Housing Affairs, Dr. Saud Hilal Al-Harbi was appointed Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education, and Dr. Ghadeer Mohammad Aseeri as Minister of Social Affairs.
Mubarak Salem Al-Harees was appointed Minister of State for Services' Affairs and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs and Waleed Khalifa Al-Jassem as Minister of State for Municipal Affairs.
The previous government resigned on Nov. 14 over accusations of wasting public money and disputes among the ministers. Kuwait’s Emir assigned on Nov. 19 Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah to form a new government.
The first task of the new PM is to tackle corruption. Notably, Kuwait ranked 78 globally and last in the Gulf on the level of Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2018.
For his part, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim expressed hope that the new PM and his ministerial team will succeed in facing the challenges and achieving the Kuwaitis’ ambitions.
In his statement to the press, he affirmed cooperating with the PM within the constitution and the state’s laws. Ghanim added that the PM bears full responsibility for his choices in the lineup, wishing him luck in overcoming the challenges.
The Speaker clarified that the first session will be on December 24 so that the government can swear-in in front of the national assembly.
In her first comment after assigning her as Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Aqeel revealed that the coming period requires more cooperation and combining efforts among development partners in the public-private sectors and the civil community.
She also stressed cooperating with the National Assembly deputies for the sake of pushing development in the country and accomplishing the Kuwait Vision 2035.
