Jaber al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah (29 June 1926-15 January 2006) was the Emir of Kuwait from 31 December 1977 to 15 January 2006, succeeding Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah and preceding Saad al-Salim al-Sabah.
Biography[]
Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah was born in Kuwait City, Kuwait in 1926, the third son of Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah and the brother of Fahad al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah. He served as Finance Minister from 1959 to 1965, overseeing Kuwait's transformation from an urban seafaring society to a modern state funded by massive oil earnings. Jaber inherited the throne in 1977 and provided financial backing to Ba'athist Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War, only for Saddam Hussein - who was bankrupted by the failed war with Iran - to reignite Iraq's irridentist claims on Kuwait in 1990 with the goal of acquiring its vast oil fields. This resulted in the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait at the start of the Gulf War, and Emir Jaber was rescued from the invading Iraqi Army in Kuwait City by 3 American Delta Force operatives in Operation Safe Passage on 3 August 1990, allowing him to set up a government-in-exile in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia and continue the fight. With the help of a multinational United Nations coalition, Kuwait was liberated in February 1991, and Jaber returned to power on 15 March. He died in 2006 at the age of 79 from a cerebral hemorrhage, leaving behind 50 children (27 daughters and 23 sons) by his many wives.