Historical accounts

Kuwait was established under the Al Sabah ruling family in 1756. It developed around Kuwait City, was part of the Ottoman Empire until 1893, when it became a British Protectorate.  Oil was discovered in the country in 1938 but only in 1946, after the end of the Second World War, Kuwait Oil Company was able to start oil export, boosting the economic development of the small Emirate.  In 1961 Kuwait became independent and under the leadership of Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Al Sabah became part of the Arab League. Two years later, in 1963, Kuwait joined the UN and run its first legislative elections. On 29 February 1963, The Amir, Sheikh Abdullah, inaugurated the first session of the National Assembly. Kuwait had a pivotal role in the creation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (1981).   During the ’80 the Country experienced a serious economic crisis caused by the collapse of the stock exchange market. Several terroristic attacks by Shia groups followed and culminated in a life attempt to the Amir. In 1990 Iraq invaded Kuwait. The first Gulf war ended in February 1991 with the liberation of Kuwait by an international coalition guided under UN umbrella by the US. The Country suffered heavy economic and social repercussions with its infrastructures destroyed and its oil wells put on fire by the Iraqi troops prior to their withdraw. Oil exports were temporarily cut and the environmental disaster left the Emirate in a state of shock that still echoes. In a few years Kuwait managed to rebuild the Country and re-launch a powerful oil-based economy. In 2003, Kuwait hosted the logistical basis for "coalition of the willings" military operation that overruled Saddam Hussein's regime. 

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