Ailing Kuwait emir to abdicate after deal

AP ^ | January 23, 2006

[jmc1969]

KUWAIT CITY (AP) -- Kuwait's ailing emir, Sheik Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, has abdicated following an agreement within the ruling family, a lawmaker said Monday.

The abdication paves the way for the prime minister and longtime de facto ruler, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, to become the country's new emir, and ends an unprecedented public quarrel inside the ruling family.

"An agreement has been reached in the family, and he will sign the abdication papers tomorrow," parliamentarian Nasser al-Saneh told The Associated Press.

He said the two struggling camps of the family met Monday evening in order to reach a compromise before a parliament session Tuesday that was to debate Cabinet demands that the ailing new emir be ousted in favor of the Sheik Sabah.

A swearing-in ceremony for Sheik Saad had been planned for Tuesday evening.

It was not yet known when Sheik Sabah would take the oath as emir.

Sheik Sabah, the prime minister, has been running the day-to-day affairs of the country since the late emir, Sheik Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah, and his successor and the then-crown prince, Sheik Saad, both fell ill.

The leadership crisis began coming to a head on Friday when scores of ruling family members visited Sheik Sabah at his residence and asked him to take charge of the country. He accepted the draft, which was widely seen as approval of his becoming emir.

The push for Sheik Sabah's ascension, however, was snarled when some members of Sheik Saad's branch of the ruling family objected.

[geezerwheezer]

Looks like a "shake-up in sheikdom". My eyes are crossed following that story.