KUWAIT CITY -- Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah appointed Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah as prime minister on Thursday, according to the state news agency KUNA.

Sheikh Mohammad, born in 1955, served as Kuwait's ambassador to the United States from 1993 to 2001. Following that, he became the foreign minister and has also held the position of deputy prime minister in earlier cabinets.

The new prime minister will have to nominate members of the new cabinet for the emir's approval.

Sheikh Mishal became Kuwait's 17th ruler on Dec 20, 2023, succeeding his half-brother, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who had passed away at the age of 86.

On the same day, he accepted the resignation of the former cabinet, led by Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the son of the late emir.