The State of Kuwait (Dawlat al Kuwayt) has been ruled by the Royal al-Sabah dynasty since ~1752. The 1962 constitution contains detailed provisions on the powers and relationships of the branches of government and on the rights of citizens. Upon the death of Amir, the Crown Prince assumes his position. A new Crown Prince is then selected by members of the Sabah family from among the direct descendants of Mubarak the Great. Under the Constitution, the designation is subject to the approval of the National Assembly. Since independence, successions have been orderly, both in 1965 and 1978.

Kuwait experienced an unprecedented era of prosperity under Amir Sabah al-Salim Al Sabah , who died in 1977 after ruling for 12 years, and under his successor, Amir Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah, the current emir. The country was transformed into a highly developed welfare state with a free market economy. During the 7-month occupation by Iraq, the Amir, the government, and many Kuwaitis took refuge in Saudi Arabia or other nations. The Amir and the government successfully managed Kuwaiti affairs from Saudi Arabia, London, and elsewhere during the period, relying on substantial Kuwaiti investments available outside Kuwait for funding and war-related expenses. His return after the liberation in February 1991 was relatively smooth.

Kuwait's first National Assembly was elected in 1963, with follow-on elections held in 1967, 1971, and 1975. From 1976 to 1981, the National Assembly was suspended. Following elections in 1981 and 1985, the National Assembly was again dissolved. Fulfilling a promise made during the period of Iraqi occupation, the Amir held new elections for the National Assembly in 1992. On May 4, 1999, the Amir once again dissolved the National Assembly. This time, however, it was done through entirely constitutional means, and new elections were held on July 3, 1999.

No political parties exist in Kuwait, although there are several major political groupings that function like parties. Although the Amir maintains the final word on most government policies, the National Assembly plays a real role in decisionmaking, with powers to initiate legislation, question government ministers, and express lack of confidence in individual ministers. For example, in May 1999, the Amir issued several landmark decrees dealing with women's suffrage, economic liberalization, and nationality. The National Assembly later rejected all of these decrees as a matter of principle and then reintroduced most of them as parliamentary legislation.

In spite of that, Kuwait's Amir ( whose official title is His Highnness the Amir of the State of Kuwait )is an extremely respected figure among all Kuwaiti nationals. For instance, in the year 2004 - after unexpected hike in oil prices brought extra revenues to Kuwait's budget - many Kuwaiti employees, working in the governmental sector, demanded from the government an increase in salaries. The Government, however, rejected their demands arguing that the hike in oil prices is just a temporary thing and it won't last long anyway. It was at that moment, that the Amir interfered and came up with a middle-solution, decreeing that every Kuwaiti citizen (irrespective of his/her age) shall be granted a rather generous one-time allowance of 200 Kuwaiti dinars. The parliament, then, unanimously approved the Amir's initiative by passing a special bill on that matter. It is noteworthy that, according to the Constitution, the Amir's person is immune and inviolable. Therefore, He can never be criticized in the State's mass media or elsewhere in the country. But it is not because of the Constitutional ban that the Amir is not criticized - it is simply because there is no real need to do that: partly because He - being a symbol of State - is held in high esteem by all Kuwaiti citizens and partly because most of His every day activities are of diplomatic nature - sending cables to the Heads of other States, receiving ambassadors and attending important events both locally and internationally. Amir exercizes His authority through Cabinet ministers. To some extent, His position can be likened to that of the UK monarch.

As for the Crown Prince, the Constitution does not mention what his exact job in the government system of Kuwait is. However, that does not prevent him from being being a public figure - the mass media always provide reports about him, usually of social or diplomatic nature: for instance, if he recieves a foreign dignitary is his office, or sends a cable of congartulations to another monarch or travels or returns from abroad, or hosts a social event - these and other things will always be covered by Kuwait's media. Since Kuwait's Constitution does not talk about the Crown Prince's duties a lot, he can simply be described as a "heir to the throne". Until recently (July 2003) the Crown Prince of Kuwait used to be a Head of Government.

Country name:
conventional long form: State of Kuwait
conventional short form: Kuwait
local long form: Dawlat al Kuwayt (Arabic: دولة الكويت)
local short form: Al Kuwayt (Arabic: الكويت)

Data code: KU

Government type: nominal constitutional monarchy

Capital: Kuwait (City) (Arabic: ( الكويت ( مدينة )

Administrative divisions: 6 governorates (muhafadhaat, singular - muhafadhah); Al Ahmadi, Al Farwaniyah, Al 'Asimah, Al Jahra', Hawalli and Mubarak Al-Kabeer.

Independence: June 19 1961 (from the United Kingdom, as Kuwait was its protectorate)

National holiday: National Day, February 25 (since 1950), and the Liberation Day, February 26 (since 1991)

Constitution: approved and promulgated November 11 1962

Legal system: civil law system with Islamic law significant in personal matters; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: adult males who have been naturalized for 30 years or more or have resided in Kuwait since before 1920 and their male descendants at age 21
note: Only 15% of the Kuwaiti population can vote, with all women, recently naturalised citizens and members of the armed forces excluded. In 1996, however, naturalized citizens who do not meet the pre-1920 qualification but have been naturalized for 30 years were eligible to vote for the first time.

Executive branch: Prime Minister SABAH al-Ahmad al-Jabir Al Sabah (since 13 July 2003); First Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior Nawwaf al-Ahmad Al Sabah (since 2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the Prime Minister and approved by the monarch. Some of the Cabinet portfolios can only go to a member of the Ruling family (like Foreign affairs, Interior, Oil/Energy and some others. These posts are detailed in the Constitution).
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Ministers appointed by the monarch

Legislative branch: Unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Umma (50 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); plus the Cabinet ministers ( PM included ) are granted automatic membership in the parliament. Therefore, the actual number of functionaries in the parliament might be 62 or even more ( depending on the number of ministers at the given time ). The Cabinet ministers, together with the PM, are excluded from voting only on one occassion: when MPs - after grilling an individual minister - want to pass a no-confidence vote against him. It is very common for the MPs to exercize their Constitutional right to grill the Cabinet member. As a matter of fact, the parliament's sessions and interpellations of the Cabinet ministers are aired on Kuwait's TV uncensored.
elections: last held 5 July 2003 (next to be held in 2007, provided that the present Nationl Assembly is not disolved till that time)
election results: Pro-cabinet candidates took 14 of the parliament's 50 seats; fundamentalist Muslims, who want a full implementation of Islamic law, took 21 seats (an increase of one); Liberals and their supporters took just 3 seats - a massive drop from the 14 they had in the outgoing parliament and the remaining 12 seats were won by independent candidates - a large increase from the four they held in the last session.

Judicial branch: The Judiciary in Kuwait is an independent body. The administration of justice is free and fair from the influence of any authority - be it an executive, or a legislative one. In each administrative district of Kuwait there is a Summary Court (also called Courts of First Instance which are composed of one or more divisions, like a Traffic Court or an Administrative Court); then there is Court of Appeals; Cassation Court and lastly - Constitutional Court (interprets the constitution and deals with disputes related to the constitutionality of laws).

Mass media: Kuwait has 4 TV channels (controlled by the Ministry of Information), 2 modern English FM stations, mostly targeting the Westerners residing in Kuwait (one palying latest Western pop music and hits, while the other one playing Jazz, Blues and other light music), a few Arabic radio stations, 7 daily newspapers published in Arabic, and 3 daily newspapers published in English ( Arab Times, Kuwait Times & The Daily Star ). The newspapers enjoy a high degree of independence and are not run by the government. It is very usual for the newspapers to attack the Government or any individual Cabinet minister by disclosing the mistakes or other more serious improprieties they made. Every daily also provides a separate space for opinions of the readers, where anyone can contribute by publishing an article. The opinions are uncensored, and it is usual for the author of the article to mock the Government on certain issues. Many prominent Kuwaiti thinkers, academics and intelectuals have their own space reserved for them on dailies, and many ordinary Kuwaitis are looking forward to see what he/she has to say on this or that particular issue.

Political parties and leaders: none

Political pressure groups and leaders: several political groups act as de facto parties: Bedouins, merchants, Sunni and Shi'a activists, and secular leftists and nationalists

International organization participation: ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, BDEAC, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, GCC, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a black trapezoid based on the hoist side

See also : Kuwait