Kuwait
 

to 3 Nov 1914 (Ottoman Empire)	to 1899	1899 - 29 Jul 1909
29 Jul 1909 - 19 Nov 1914	19 Nov 1914 - 1921	1921 - 7 Sep 1961
7 Sep 1961  - 8 Aug 1990;  Restored 27 Feb 1991	8 Aug 1990 - 27 Feb 1991

Map of Kuwait  Hear National Anthem "Al-Nasheed Al-Watani" (National Anthem) Adopted 1978  Former National Anthem "Amiri Salute" (1951-1978)  Constitution    (11 Nov 1962) Capital: Kuwait City (Kadhima  28 Aug 1990 - 26 Feb 1991) Currency: Kuwaiti Dinar (KWD)  National Holiday: 25 Feb (1950)  National Day Population: 2,596,799 (2008) includes 1,291,354 non-nationals GDP: $149.1 billion (2008) Exports: $95.4 billion (2008) Imports: $26.5 billion (2008) Ethnic groups: Kuwaiti Arab 30%, Palestinian 17%, Jordanian Arab 10%, Bedouin 9%, Kurd 10%, Indo-Pakistani 8%, Persian 4%, other 4% (2000) Total Active Armed Forces: 15,500 (2006) U.S. Troops: 15,000 (2011) Merchant marine: 38 ships (2008) Religions: Muslim 74% (of which Sunni 59%, Shi'a 15%), Christian 13% (of which Roman Catholic 9%), Hindu 10%, Buddhist 3% (2005) International Organizations/Treaties: ABEDA, AfDB (nonregional), AFESD, AL, AMF, APM, BDEAC, BTWC, CAEU, CTBT, ENMOD, FAO, G-77, GAFTA, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, ICSID, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, IRENA (signatory), ISA, ISESCO, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, KP, MIGA, NAM, NPT, NTBT, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCLOS, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCC, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Kuwait Index Chronology 1534                       Part of the Ottoman Empire. 1623 - 1638                Persian occupation. 1710                       Kuwait city founded. 1752                       Al Sabah lineage founds Kuwait. 1871                       Rulers recognize sovereignty of the Ottoman                               Empire (as kazan [district] of Baghdad                              [from 1875 Basra] vilayet [see Iraq]). 29 Jul 1913                U.K. recognizes Kuwait as an 'autonomous' part                              of the Ottoman Empire.  3 Nov 1914 - 19 Jun 1961  British protectorate (informally from                               23 Nov 1899)(sometimes spelled Koweit)  2 Dec 1922 -  7 Jul 1965  Kuwaiti-Saudi Arabian neutral zone in southern                               border area. 19 Jun 1961                State of Kuwait  2 Aug 1990 - 26 Feb 1991  Iraqi occupation.  7 Aug 1990 -  8 Aug 1990  Republic of Kuwait (under Iraqi occupation).  9 Aug 1990 - 26 Feb 1991  Annexed by Iraq (from 28 Aug 1990 as its 19th                              province; formally rescinded 20 Mar 1991). Historical Maps of Kuwait

Rulers¹ (1871 - 3 Nov 1914 also Kaymakam [district administrator])
1752 - 1758                Sheikh Abu `Abd Allah Sabah I ibn  (b. c.1652 - d. 1758) 
                             Jabir Al Sabah 
1758 -  3 May 1814         Sheikh Abdullah I ibn Sabah Al     (b. c.1740 - d. 1814)
                             Sabah
 3 May 1814 - 1859         Sheikh Jabir I ibn Abdullah Al     (b. c.1770 - d. 1859)
                             Sabah
1859 - Nov 1866            Sheikh Sabah II ibn Jabir Al Sabah (b. c.1784 - d. 1866)
Nov 1866 - May 1892        Sheikh Abdullah II ibn Sabah Al    (b. 1814 - d. 1892)
                             Sabah
May 1892 - 17 May 1896     Sheikh Muhammad al Sabah Al Sabah  (b. 1831 - d. 1896)
18 May 1896 - 29 Nov 1915  Sheikh Mubarak al-Lahab ibn Sabah  (b. 1837 - d. 1915)
                             Al Sabah "the Great"
29 Nov 1915 -  5 Feb 1917  Sheikh Jabir II Al Mubarak Al      (b. 1860 - d. 1917)
                             Sabah
 5 Feb 1917 - 27 Feb 1921  Sheikh Salim Al Mubarak Al Sabah   (b. 1864 - d. 1921)
27 Feb 1921 - 29 Jan 1950  Sheikh Ahmad Al Jabir Al Sabah     (b. 1885 - d. 1950)
29 Jan 1950 - 19 Jun 1961  Sheikh Abdullah III Al Salim Al    (b. 1895 - d. 1965)
                             Sabah
Emirs¹
19 Jun 1961 - 24 Nov 1965  Sheikh Abdullah III Al Salim Al    (s.a.)
                             Sabah
24 Nov 1965 - 31 Dec 1977  Sheikh Sabah III Al Salim Al Sabah (b. 1915 - d. 1977)
31 Dec 1977 -  2 Aug 1990  Sheikh Jabir III Al Ahmad Al Jabir (b. 1926 - d. 2006)
                             Al Sabah (1st time)
                             (2 Aug 1990 - 14 Mar 1991 in at-Ta´if, Saudi Arabia exile)
(Iraqi-installed) Head of State (Rais al-Wuzara)
 2 Aug 1990 -  8 Aug 1990  Alaa Hussein Ali                   (b. 1948?)          Ba'ath/Mil
                             (Alaa Hussein Ali Al Khafaji Al Jabir)
Governors
 8 Aug 1990 - Nov 1990     Ali Hassan al-Majid "Chemical Ali" (b. 1941 - d. 2010) Ba'ath/Mil
Nov 1990 - 26 Feb 1991     Aziz Salih Numan                   (b. 1941/45)        Ba'ath/Mil
Emirs¹
26 Feb 1991 - 15 Jan 2006  Sheikh Jabir III Al Ahmad Al Jabir (s.a.)
                             Al Sabah (2nd time)
21 Sep 2001 - Jan 2002     Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Salim   (b. 1929 - d. 2008)
                             Al Sabah -Regent
15 Jan 2006 - 24 Jan 2006  Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Salim   (s.a.)
                             Al Sabah 
24 Jan 2006 -              Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jabir     (b. 1929) 
                             Al Sabah
                            (interim head of state to 29 Jan 2007) 

Prime ministers (Chairmen of the council of ministers)
17 Jan 1962 -  2 Feb 1963  Sheikh Jabir Al Ahmad Al Jabir     (s.a.)               Non-party
                             Al Sabah (1st time) 
 2 Feb 1963 - 30 Nov 1965  Sheikh Sabah Al Salim Al Sabah     (s.a.)               Non-party
30 Nov 1965 -  8 Feb 1978  Sheikh Jabir Al Ahmad Al Jabir     (s.a.)               Non-party
                             Al Sabah (2nd time) 
 8 Feb 1978 - 13 Jul 2003  Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Salim   (s.a.)               Non-party
                             Al Sabah
                            (2 Aug 1990 - 4 Mar 1991 in at-Ta´if, Saudi Arabia exile)
 2 Aug 1990 -  8 Aug 1990  Alaa Hussein Ali                   (s.a.)               Ba'ath/Mil
                             (under Iraqi occupation)
13 Jul 2003 -  7 Feb 2006  Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jabir     (s.a.)               Non-party
                             Al Sabah 
 7 Feb 2006 -  4 Dec 2011  Sheikh Nasser Muhammad Al Ahmad    (b. 1941)            Non-party
                             Al Sabah 
 4 Dec 2011 -              Sheikh Jabir Mubarak Al Ahmad      (b. 1942)            Non-party
                             Al Sabah

British Native Agent
Aug 1899 - Aug 1904        Haji Ali bin Mulla Ghulam Bisa
British Political Agents (subordinated to the chief political residents of
the Persian Gulf; see under Bahrain)
Aug 1904 - May 1905        Stuart George Knox (1st time)      (b. 1869 - d. 1956)
May 1905 - Oct 1905        Daud al-Rahman (acting)
Oct 1905 - Apr 1909        Stuart George Knox (2nd time)      (s.a.)
Apr 1909 - Jan 1914        William Henry Irvine Shakespear    (b. 1878 - d. 1915)
Jan 1914 - Jun 1916        William George Grey                (b. 1866 - d. 1953)
Jun 1916 - Mar 1918        Robert Edward Archibald Hamilton   (b. 1871 - d. 1950)
Mar 1918 - Sep 1918        Percy Gordon Loch                  (b. 1887 - d. 1963)
Sep 1918 - Feb 1920        Daniel Vincent McCollum
Feb 1920 - May 1920        L.M.D. Mello (acting)
May 1920 - May 1929        James Carmichale More              (b. 1883 - d. 1959)
Apr 1927 - Oct 1927        Cyril Barrett (acting for More)
May 1930 - Feb 1936        Harold Richard Patrick Dickson     (b. 1881 - d. 1959)
                             (1st time) 
May 1931 - Sep 1931        Allen Greenway (acting for Dickson)
Jun 1934 - Oct 1934        Ralph Watts (acting for Dickson)
Feb 1936 - May 1939        Gerald Simpson de Gaury            (b. 1897 - d. 1984)
Apr 1937 - May 1937        Andrew Stewart (acting for de Gaury)
May 1937 - Jun 1937        Allen Greenway (acting for de Gaury)
May 1939 - May 1941        Arnold Crawshaw Galloway           (b. 1901 - d. 1988)
May 1941 - Aug 1941        Harold Richard Patrick Dickson     (s.a.)
                             (2nd time) 
Aug 1941 - Sep 1943        Tom Hickinbotham                   (b. 1903 - d. 1983)
Oct 1943 - Jun 1944        Cornelius James Pelly (1st time)   (b. 1908 - d. 1985)
Jun 1944 - Apr 1945        Gordon Noel Jackson                (b. 1913 - d. 1999)
Apr 1945 - Mar 1946        Maurice Patrick O'Connor Tandy     (b. 1912 - d. 1986)
                             (1st time)
Mar 1946 - May 1946        Richard Ernest Rowland Bird        (b. 1912 - d. 1986)
May 1946 - Apr 1948        Maurice Patrick O'Connor Tandy     (s.a.)
                             (2nd time)
1947 - 1953                Herbert George Jakins (1st time)   (b. 1897 - d. 19..)
1953 - 1954                F.L.C. Chauncy
1954 - 1955                Herbert George Jakins (2nd time)   (s.a.) 
1955                       Cornelius James Pelly (2nd time)   (s.a.)
1955 - 1957                Gawain Westray Bell                (b. 1909 - d. 1995)
1957 - 1959                Aubrey Seymour Halford-MacLeod     (b. 1914 - d. 2000)
1959 - 1961                John Christopher Blake Richmond    (b. 1909 - d. 1990)
1961                       J.L. Christie

  ¹The full style of the ruler:
(a) to 19 Jun 1961: Hakim al-Kuwayt ("Ruler of Kuwait");
(b) from 19 Jun 1961: Emir Dawlat al-Kuwayt ("Emir of the State of Kuwait").

Territorial Disputes: The 1994 Kuwait land and Khawr 'Abd Allah channel boundary demarcation ended Iraqi claims to Kuwait and Bubiyan and Warbah islands; Kuwait and Saudi Arabia continue negotiating a joint maritime boundary with Iran; no maritime boundary exists with Iraq in the Persian Gulf.

At the last elections, only non-partisans were allowed to stand.

Former Party abbreviations: Ba'ath = Hizb al Ba'ath al'Arabiyah al Ishtiraki (Arab Socialist Rebirth Party {Iraqi Baath Party], dictatorial socialist, 8 Aug 1990-27 Feb 1991 only legal party); Mil = Military