Cairo, 16 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Ruler of oil-rich Kuwait, Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah, died on Saturday at age 86, according to a royal court statement.

"With extreme grief and sorrow, we mourn to the Kuwaiti people as well as to the Arab and Islamic nations and the friendly people of the world the death of the country’s Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad,” the court said in a televised statement.

No cause of his death was given.

The sheikh had been undergoing medical treatment since the end of November. He succeeded his half brother, who died at the age of 91, in the autumn of 2020.

The Kuwaiti government resigned several times during Sheikh Nawaf's reign amid a series of crises.

While Kuwait has the most active parliament in the Gulf region, with greater influence on legislation than is the case in neighbouring countries, power ultimately lies in the hands of the royal house.

Kuwait was the first country in the Gulf region to establish an elected parliament in 1963.

Born in June 1937 in the Kuwaiti capital, Nawaf began his political career when he was in his mid-20s, when he was appointed governor of Hawalli province.

Nawaf later held several ministerial positions, including interior, defence and social affairs, before he was named crown prince.