Sabah al-ahmad al-jaber al-sabah

Sheikh Jaber was a decisive ruler

Like many other Middle East leaders, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah of Kuwait was buffeted by a succession of regional and domestic crises and challenges.

But he survived an assassination attempt and the invasion of his country by Saddam Hussein's army.

Regarded as the quintessential Kuwaiti and a shrewd and astute politician, he was 50 years old and had acquired considerable political experience by the time he became the 13th ruler of Kuwait's Sabah dynasty in 1977.

In effect, Sheikh Jaber had been the real power in Kuwait for several years prior to that because of the poor health of his predecessor, his cousin, Sheikh Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah.

Country transformed

When Kuwait ceased to be a British protectorate and gained full independence in 1961, Sheikh Jaber became the first finance minister of a country whose oil revenues had transformed it from a largely tribal society to a modern, urbanised state with one of the world'