Kuwait in 2009

17,818 sq km (6,880 sq mi)
(2009 est.): 3,442,000
Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah, assisted by Prime Minister Sheikh Nasir al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah

Aseel al-Awadhi (second from right) attends an orientation session on May 25, 2009, for new members of the Kuwaiti National Assembly. Al-Awadhi was one of the first four women ever elected to the 50-member legislative body and one of two who did not wear a Muslim head scarf.Yasser Al-Zayyat—AFP/Getty ImagesOn March 18, 2009, continued tensions in Kuwait between the parliament and the cabinet led the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah, to dissolve the National Assembly—the third such dissolution since 2006—and call for new elections. The elections, held on May 16, resulted in a historic outcome; four highly educated women won election to the National Assembly in spite of objections from conservative Islamists. Although Kuwaiti women were given the right to vote and to run for office in 2005, none had previously been able to win a National Assembly seat. Meanwhile, representatives from the Shiʿite community, which constituted about one-third of the Kuwaiti population, rose from five to nine; by contrast, Sunni Islamists (Salafists) saw their representation in the National Assembly decline significantly, from 21 seats to 11. The emir also reappointed his nephew, Sheikh Nasir al-Muhammad al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah, prime minister for the sixth time since 2006.

During 2009 some leading Kuwaitis were advocating for the appointment of a prime minister from outside the ruling family as a means of providing more stability. Since 1992 the role of the National Assembly had been slowly changing from a consultative body to a genuine legislature. A critical issue was the total accountability of the entire cabinet to the National Assembly; the prime minister had always been a member of the al-Sabah family, which, as the ruling family, was not held accountable.

Like many countries, Kuwait suffered the effects of the global financial crisis in 2009. The government was obliged to shore up Gulf Bank, the country’s second largest bank, and fully guarantee all bank deposits. The Kuwait stock exchange and real-estate prices tumbled, but by the beginning of the third quarter of 2009, the Kuwaiti economy was showing signs of recovery.

Tense relations between Kuwait and Iraq continued over border issues, shared oil fields, and war reparations owed by Iraq to Kuwait. While Kuwait insisted upon fulfillment of Iraq’s international obligations, including payment of reparations, Iraq sought the cancellation of about $25 billion of the UN-mandated reparations for destruction wrought by Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. Efforts were made by the UN to help find a solution to the impasse; among the most promising plans was the proposal to let Kuwait invest the money owed to it within the Iraqi infrastructure.