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Kuwait ruler names new prime minister amid embezzlement case

November 19, 2019 GMT

FILE - In this March 31, 2019 file photo, Kuwait's ruling emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, attends the opening of the 30th Arab Summit, in Tunis, Tunisia. Kuwait’s ruler has fired two warring Cabinet ministers at the center of embezzlement allegations and directed the prime minister to form a new government. Al Sabah issued the decree Monday, Nov. 18, 2019, just days after Kuwait’s Cabinet resigned amid another inquiry. (Fethi Belaid/Pool Photo via AP, File)

KUWAIT CITY (AP) — Kuwait’s ruler has named a new prime minister after dismissing the government amid a row between powerful ministers from the ruling family.

The state-run KUNA news agency Tuesday says the appointment names Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah as prime minister. It comes after Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah declined keeping the post after deliberations with Kuwait’s ruler. He’d held the job since 2011.

The ruling emir recently fired both Defense Minister Nasser Al Sabah — his son — and Interior Minister Khaled Al Sabah, who had issued statements against each other. The defense minister said he discovered that $790 million was embezzled while the interior minister served as his predecessor.

The Justice Ministry imposed a gag order on local media from reporting on the case.