Kuwaitis celebrate His Highness the Amir's 10 year ascendency

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) KUWAIT Jan 28 (KUNA) -- The sun shines ever so brightly on a Thursday which marks 10 years since His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah stood before the parliament to take his oath of office as the 15th ruler of Kuwait.His Highness Sheikh Sabah is a distinguished ruler who received both executive and legislative backing along with the support of the people at the start of his reign and continues to do so.Born on June 16 1929 the fourth son of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was handpicked as a potentially astute statesman.After studying at the local Mubarakiya School his father sent him to the West to pick up on diplomatic skills he would soon be able to master.Upon his return in 1954 Sheikh Sabah was immediately handed the role of forming one of the sides of a committee tasked with restructuring state bodies despite being only 25 years old.A year later he was appointed head of the state social affairs and labour unit a position he would later thrive in.At a time of heavy regional and international labor migration into Kuwait he was responsible for regulating the relationship between employee and business owner.He was also behind the formation of specialist training centres sports clubs welfare centres for women children the elderly and special needs cases and a traditional arts centre.In 1957 after being tasked with overseeing the state publishing department the first edition of cultural magazine Al-Arabi (the Arab world's answer to National Geographic) was published.It was to later become a huge hit amongst Arab readers and helped put Kuwait on the map as a serious advocate of culture and knowledge.A publications' and media law that placed Kuwait as the top Arab country in the World Media Index - a position it holds until this day - was another of his contributions.Two years after Kuwait's independence in 1961 he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs - a position he would continue to fill over a 40-year period.His reign as foreign minister was marked by numerous shifts and turbulent circumstances. But thanks to his wise judgement the then minister Sheikh Sabah was able to steady the ship.After raising Kuwait's flag for the first time at the United Nations in 1963 he immediately set out to cover his role with fervor becoming instrumental in his policy as a regional His first task was to bring together the conflicting sides in Yemen's civil war including Saudi Arabia and Egypt who were backing separate sides in the struggle. All the parties were involved in reconciliation talks hosted by Kuwait.As the fighting continued between the north and the south of Yemen he later paid a visit to both resulting in the signature of a peace agreement in 1972.In 1980 he also mediated reconciliation between Yemen and its western neighbours Oman.He was also faced with difficult regional conditions which he managed to sail through smoothly like the eight-year-old Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990.The role of forming a government in the place of Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah was given to him in 2001 after which he was appointed prime minister two years later.This is when his focus on economic affairs began. He launched a local fund for SMEs in order to support the youth. On international affairs he looked eastwards to sign a total 10 agreements MoUs and giant business projects with China Japan South Korea and Singapore in 2004.On January 2006 former Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah passed away. His successor was Sheikh Saad however his extreme sickness prevented him from becoming ruler.It is then that the cabinet sat down to agree that Sheikh Sabah would be the new ruler - a decision that later received the parliament's backing as well.His Highness the Amir's development plans for Kuwait are truly underway. Some projects have been completed while some are in the pipeline including Jaber Hospital Mubarak Port the giant Jaber Bridge which links the north to Kuwait City Al-Zour refinery the new airport and Jaber Stadium.On September 2014 and after Kuwait hosted three international conferences which helped raise billions of dollars in an unprecedented step for humanitarian efforts on the Syrian refugee crisis His Highness was handed a 'Humanitarian Leader' award by UN chief Ban Ki-moon.Throughout his 10-year reign His Highness the Amir oversaw the handing out of many other relief aid grants and loans worth tens of millions to nations around the world particularly to the Palestinians and impoverished countries in Africa and Asia.His love for his people was at its most evident when moments after terrorists bombed Imam Al-Sadiq mosque leaving behind 26 people dead he showed up unguarded and unarmed to oversee rescue efforts. It was then he made the famous quote "those are my children." Kuwait will rejoice on the day that their ruler celebrates a tenth year in office. A humanitarian a champion of the weak a man of compassion and a patriot - long live His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. (end) sd