Media from My Country (4) - 5 .. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah.. Pioneer of Independence and Builder of the Constitutional State

Good morning; a family with deep roots, noble in origin, generous in lineage, and deeply embedded in history. People have known the Al Sabah family for their chivalry, generosity, loyalty, steadfastness, good conduct, and lasting positive impact. For this reason, we began with you, and from you the journey started; thus, the choice of the Al Sabah family as the inaugural subject of this series of media programs from my country was an act of loyalty to a family whose name is intertwined with Kuwait’s history, and which has maintained a firm presence and enduring influence throughout its journey.

Since the great family is known for both its men and women, I chose to begin with its prominent figures—those who left indelible marks on Kuwait’s history, whose lives deserve to be recounted, and whose achievements merit preservation in the memory of the nation and future generations.

The fifth and final episode: Abdullah Al-Salim... The man who departed, yet the state endured.

In the first episode, we stood before a man born when Kuwait was under the British protectorate. In the second, we saw him engage with oil not merely as a source of wealth, but as an opportunity to build a state. In the third, we witnessed with him on June 19, 1961, the day Kuwait regained its sovereignty. In the fourth, we reached the 1962 Constitution, when independence transitioned from state sovereignty to the rule of law.

But in this final episode, we do not ask: What did Abdullah Al-Salim do? Rather, we ask the more crucial question: What did Abdullah Al-Salim leave behind for Kuwait after his passing?

First: From ruler to architect of a project.

When Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim assumed power in 1950, Kuwait was entering a new phase in its history. Oil was beginning to reshape the country’s landscape, the population was growing, state institutions were expanding, and the world around Kuwait was changing rapidly. The Emir faced two choices: either manage a period of prosperity, or build a state capable of thriving beyond that prosperity. He chose the latter path. He did not view oil as an end in itself, but as a means to develop human capital, education, healthcare, services, administration, and to establish modern state institutions. This is where the value of Abdullah Al-Salim lies: he was not merely building a state for his own era, but constructing a state that would endure beyond his reign.

Second: Independence and the Constitution... A single project.

Kuwait’s independence on June 19, 1961, was not an isolated event separate from the 1962 Constitution. Rather, they were two stages of one unified project. In the first stage, Kuwait regained its decision-making autonomy and sovereignty. In the second, this autonomy was institutionalized within constitutional frameworks and legal structures. On November 11, 1962, Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim approved the Constitution, which established a state governed by the rule of law and constitution, defined the relationships between branches of government, and safeguarded rights and freedoms. Subsequently, the first elections for the National Assembly took place in January 1963, ushering in a new phase of Kuwaiti parliamentary life. Thus, the picture was completed: an independent state... then a constitutional state... then an institutional state.

Men who carried with them the responsibilities of that era. Yet, a state is not built by a single individual. Here, the names of men who played prominent roles in this major transformative period come to the fore. Among the most notable is Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, who contributed for years to building security and defense institutions. After the armed forces gained independence from the General Security Directorate in 1959, he assumed leadership of the Armed Forces, becoming a key component in building the institutional strength of the nascent state. Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak was a man of the foundational security and military era—an era in which Kuwait needed to build a state capable of defending its sovereignty.

Therefore, the story of Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salim remains incomplete without acknowledging the men who worked alongside him, each of whom later moved on to shape another chapter in Kuwait’s history. Among them is also Sheikh Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah.

Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem appointed him Crown Prince in October 1962, and he then assumed the premiership in the constitutional era starting in 1963, serving as head of government during the final years of Abdullah Al-Salem’s reign. Thus, Sabah Al-Salem was at the heart of the phase through which Kuwait transitioned from an era of independence to an era of constitutional institutions. Not long after, he himself became Emir of Kuwait following the death of Abdullah Al-Salem on November 24, 1965. It was a year of historical significance: one generation laid the foundations, another completed the work, and a third carried the trust to the next. November 24, 1965… The man departed. On November 24, 1965, the life of Abdullah Al-Salem came to an end. The Prince who had led Kuwait for fifteen years passed away. The man who witnessed his country’s transition from a period of protection to independence, and from a state with limited institutions to a constitutional state, was gone. Yet Kuwait did not stop. Here lies the greatness of the project. Personal projects die with their founders. But state projects, if built on institutions, endure. Abdullah Al-Salem departed… and Kuwait remained. The man departed, and independence remained. The ruler departed, and the Constitution remained. The project’s owner vanished, but the state institutions he wished to endure after him remained. What remained of Abdullah Al-Salem? Many things remained. Kuwait retained the idea that independence is not merely a flag that flutters, but sovereignty and decision-making. The idea remained that wealth has no value unless it is transformed into human development. The Constitution stood as testimony that power can shift from individual responsibility to an institutional system. The National Assembly stood as testimony to Kuwait’s transition to a new stage of political participation. And in the Kuwaiti memory remained the image of a man who understood that the greatest legacy a ruler can leave his country is not his name on a street or his portrait in a diwaniya, but a strong state that endures after his departure. Abdullah Al-Salem… more than a name. And so, when we mention Abdullah Al-Salem, we should not remember him only as the Prince of Independence. We should remember him as the man of the state who combined independence, nation-building, and the Constitution. He could have made independence the end of his project. But he made it the beginning of a larger one. He could have retained power within its traditional framework. But he chose to place it within a constitutional and institutional framework. He could have built a state dependent on his person. But he left a state dependent on its institutions. Here lies the greatness of the man. Conclusion At the beginning of this series, Abdullah Al-Salem was a child of about four years old when the 1899 Agreement was signed. More than six decades later, he was the Emir who concluded the period of protection and declared Kuwait’s independence. He did not stop at independence; he pushed the country toward the Constitution and institutions. Thus, Abdullah Al-Salem condensed in his life Kuwait’s journey from the era of protection to the era of sovereignty, and from sovereignty to the era of the Constitution. He departed on November 24, 1965. But the man did not depart entirely. He left behind a nation carrying his project. And so, the greatest thing we can say at the end of this series is: Abdullah Al-Salem departed… but Kuwait did not lose its way. Rather, the path remained clear: independence that safeguards sovereignty. A Constitution that safeguards the state. Institutions that safeguard the future. And men who carry the banner from one generation to the next. And from here, the story does not end. After Abdullah Al-Salem, we open the page of another man among those who contributed to shaping Kuwait’s modern state era: Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. The man of security and defense, and one of the most prominent figures in building Kuwait’s institutional strength. Then we continue the journey with the man who bore the trust of leadership after Abdullah Al-Salem: Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Thus, Kuwait remains the grand story… and its men remain luminous chapters in its history. The Butter 1.

Abdullah Al-Salem was not merely the Amir of independence; he was a man of state-building. 2. He transformed oil wealth into opportunities for building human capital and institutions. 3. He made independence the beginning of state-building, not the end of the project. 4. He transitioned Kuwait from the stage of sovereignty to that of a constitutional state. 5. Abdullah Al-Mubarak was among the foremost figures in building security and defense during the formative stage of the modern state. 6. Sabah Al-Salem was at the heart of the constitutional phase, serving as Crown Prince and Prime Minister in the final years of Abdullah Al-Salem’s reign. 7. Abdullah Al-Salem passed away on November 24, 1965, but the state’s institutions endured. 8. The greatest legacy of a ruler is not what bears his name, but what continues after his departure. 9. Kuwait’s independence was an achievement, the Constitution was a foundation, and the institutions were a legacy. 10. And for this reason, Abdullah Al-Salem remains in Kuwait’s memory not as a man of the past, but as a man who laid the foundations for the future. Dr. Abdulhamid Khalifa Al-Shaiji