Kuwait was the first member of the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) to establish a directly elected parliament, in 1963. The decree assigned most constitutional powers, bar appointing a Crown Prince, to Sheikh Mishal. On 15 November 2021, the Amir signed a decree temporarily ceding some of his powers to Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The current Amir is His Highness (HH) Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who acceded to the throne in September 2020. The head of state, the Amir, is chosen from the ruling Al-Sabah family and confirmed by the National Assembly (Majlis Al-Umma). Kuwait is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Kuwait is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and is estimated to have the world's seventh largest oil reserves. Oil production in Kuwait had begun in the 1940s and was largely nationalised by Kuwait in 1974. The seven-month Iraqi occupation came to an end after direct military intervention by United States-led coalition forces, in which Australia participated. In August 1990, Kuwait was invaded and forcibly annexed by Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Kuwait became a British protectorate in 1897 and gained independence in 1961. Kuwait's modern history began in the 18th century with the founding of the city of Kuwait by Arab tribes from the Arabian Peninsula. Kuwait covers an area of almost 18,000 square kilometres, approximately a quarter of the size of Tasmania, and has a population of 4.4 million (2022), with expatriate foreign workers accounting for around two thirds of the population. It also shares a maritime border with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The State of Kuwait is situated in the north-east corner of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered by the Republic of Iraq to the north and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the south and west.
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