Kuwait forms new cabinet after corruption allegations

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait’s new prime minister unveiled his cabinet on Tuesday, changing key ministers after accusations of corruption and infighting forced the previous government to resign.

The old cabinet stepped down a month ago after the defence minister alleged that nearly $800 million was stolen from a military aid fund. Soon afterwards the emir appointed foreign minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled Al-Sabah as prime minister and tasked him with forming a new government.

The new 15-member cabinet, the ninth in the past eight years in the oil-rich Gulf state, saw changes at the top of all the key ministries. Sheikh Ahmed Nasser al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, son of a former premier, was appointed foreign minister.

Sheikh Ahmed Mansour Al-Sabah was appointed defence minister, replacing the emir’s eldest son Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who brought the corruption charges to the public. Anas al-Saleh, outgoing minister of state for cabinet affairs, was appointed interior minister, the first time a non-ruling family member takes the job.