Al Sabah, Nasir al-Sabah al-Ahmad (1948–)

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Al Sabah, Nasir al-Sabah al-Ahmad
(1948–)

A Kuwaiti businessman and government official, Nasir al-Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah is also an art patron.

PERSONAL HISTORY

Nasir al-Sabah was born in Kuwait in 1948, and was educated there and in Jerusalem. He is the son and grandson of Kuwait's ruling emirs. His grandfather, Emir sabah al-ahmad al-jabir al sabah, ruled from 1921 to 1950, and his father, Emir Sabah al-Ahmad, has ruled since 2006. In 1969, Nasir al-Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah married Hussa bint Sabah al-Salim, the daughter of Emir Sabah (r. 1965–1977), thus establishing a tie between the two major branches of the ruling Al Sabah family: the al-Salim and the al-Ahmad. The couple has two sons and two daughters.

INFLUENCES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

Nasir al-Sabah subsequently pursued a career in business and banking, becoming chairman of a number of leading Kuwaiti companies as well as a director of the British Lonrho Group. He and his wife also gathered a major collection of Islamic art that eventually was lent to the National Museum in Kuwait and came to be regarded as one of the most comprehensive collections of Islamic art in the world. From 1975 to 1983, the two collected more than 20,000 pieces. The museum was destroyed during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and the collection was removed to Baghdad. Most of the art was returned intact following the liberation of Kuwait in 1991. The museum reopened in February 1993, and some of the Al Sabah collection has been put on display again.

Also dabbling in politics, Nasir al-Sabah served as the minister of state for foreign affairs from 1990 to 1991. He also was an advisor to Shaykh Sa'd al-Abdullah, the longtime heir apparent to Nasir's uncle, Emir Jabir (r. 1977–2006), once again cementing relations between the two branches of the Al Sabah family. After the death of Emir Jabir and the brief rule of Emir Sa'd (who was controversially removed from office for being physically and mentally incapable), Nasir was named minister to the Emiri Court.

THE WORLD'S PERSPECTIVE

Nasir al-Sabah earned a reputation in the 1990s as one of the world's leading collectors and buyers of Islamic art. His rivalry at auctions with Qatari collector sa'ud bin muhammad bin ali al thani, who spent millions of dollars buying Islamic art to establish the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar, was legendary.

LEGACY

It is too early to assess Nasir al-Sabah's legacy, but he surely will be remembered for being one of the foremost collectors of Islamic art in the world today.

BIOGRAPHICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Name: Nasir al-Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah

Birth: 1948, Kuwait

Family: Wife, Hussa bint Sabah al-Salim; two sons; two daughters

Nationality: Kuwaiti

PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY:

  • 1975: Begins collecting Islamic art
  • 1990: Minister of state for foreign affairs in the Kuwaiti government; his art collection in the National Museum is looted by occupying Iraqi forces and taken to Baghdad
  • 1993: National Museum in Kuwait opens

BIBLIOGRAPHY

"Islamic Art and Patronage: Treasures from Kuwait." Available from http://www.kuwaitemb-australia.com/islamic-Art.html.

                                             J. E. Peterson