Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah died at the age of 91 on Tuesday after a struggle with illness.
Sheikh Sabah had recently received medical treatment in the United States after undergoing surgery.
He was temporarily replaced during his illness by Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
Sheikh Sabah became the Gulf country's emir in 2006 after a history of serving in key state positions, including as prime minister and foreign minister for four decades.
His tenure as emir witnessed the adoption of a number of political and socio-economic reforms.
In 2005, Sabah's government involved unprecedented representation for women following the appointment of Maasuma Al-Mubarak, liberal political scientist and women's rights activist, as planning minister and minister for administrative development affairs.
