Ministry of Interior (Kuwait)

Ministry of Interior

Coat of arms of Kuwait
Ministerial Department overview
Formed	17 January 1962 (1962-01-17)
Preceding Ministerial Department	Directorate of Public Security Force Police Directorate (1938-1962)
Jurisdiction	Kuwait
Headquarters	Kuwait City
Motto	الله والوطن والامير God, Country and The Emir
Minister responsible	Mohammad Al Khalid Al Sabah Minister and Deputy Prime Minister
Child agencies	Office of the Minister of Interior Office of the Interior Undersecretary Military Offices of the Assistant Undersecretaries of the Kuwait Police Offices of the Assistant Undersecretaries of the Kuwait Police
Website	www.moi.gov.kw

The Ministry of Interior (Arabic:وزارة الداخلية الكويتية) is one of the governmental bodies of Kuwait. Its minister in charge is a member of the Cabinet of Kuwait. The current Minister of Interior is Mohammad Al Khalid Al Sabah.

History from 1928

The early organization which dealt with internal affairs was the Directorate of Public Security Force, formed during the Interwar period in 1938 by Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and mainly taking effect following World War II. Prior to 1938, internal security was dependent on the Defense Security Forces which were headed by Sheikh Ali Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. Following the Battle of Al-Regeai, command of the Defense and Security Forces was assigned to Shiekh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah, who was appointed by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and was commanding from 1928 to 1938.

Defense and Interior Command Prior to 1961

Battle General Commanders of Defense and Security Forces (1928-1938)

#	Name	Rank	Tenure From	Tenure Until	Note
1	Sheikh Ali Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah	General Cavalry Commander	1921	1928	killed during the Battle of Al-Regeai. Ali Al Salem Air Base is named after him.
2	Sheikh Abdullah Jaber Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah	General Cavalry Commander	1928	1938	pioneer in the early stages of the Military of Kuwait.

Directors of the Directorate of Public Security Force, Directorate of Police, Kuwait Army (1938-1962)

The Kuwait Army split from the Directorate of Public Security Force in 1953; subsequently, the latter merged with Directorate of Police to form Directorate of Public Security and Police in 1959; following the demolition of the defensive wall of Kuwait in 1957; which later formed the Kuwait Ministry of Interior including the Kuwait Police.

Directors of the Directorate of Public Security Force, Directorate of Police and Kuwait Army

#	Name	Rank	Tenure From	Tenure Until	Note
1	Sheikh Ali Khalifa Al-Abdullah II Al-Sabah	General Commander	1938	1942	Lead Cavalry Commander during the Battle of Jahra and the Battle of Al-Regeai
2	Sheikh Abdullah Mubarak Al-Sabah	Field Marshal	1942	1961	General Commander of Kuwait Army and Directorate of Public Security Force (1942-1961) until the two split in 1953. Founder and patron of the Kuwaiti Army and Kuwaiti Air Force. Field Marshal of Kuwait Army, Kuwait Air Force (1949-1961) prior to the forming of the Chief of the General Staff of Kuwait Armed Forces in (1963) Abdullah Al-Mubarak Air Base is named after him.

Directors of the Directorate of Public Security Force and Directorate of Police (1959)

#	Name	Rank	Tenure From	Tenure Until	Note
1	Sabah Salem Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah	President	1953	1959	Pioneer in the early formings of the Directorate of Police since 1938. 12th Ruler and 2nd Emir of Kuwait.
2	Saad Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah	General Commander	1961	1962	General Commander of the Directorate of the Public Security Force and Directorate of Police. First military officer to head the Kuwait Ministry of Defense since 1964. First military officer to head the Kuwait Ministry of Interior since 1962.

Deputy Directors of the Directorate of Public Security Force, Directorate of Police and Kuwait Army (1938-1962)

In 1953 and aside of the Police Directorate; the Kuwait Army split from the Directorate of Public Security Force which gave rise to the Kuwait Ministry of Interior and Kuwait Ministry of Defense following the country's independence.

Deputy Directors of the Directorate of Public Security Force, Directorate of Police and Kuwait Army (1938-1962)

#	Name	Rank	Tenure From	Tenure Until	Note
1	Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah	Deputy Commander	1938	1942
2	Sheikh Saad Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah	Deputy Commander	1959	1961	Deputy Commander of the Directorate of Police in 1959. Deputy Commander of Directorate of Public Security Force and Directorate of Police in 1959.

Deputy Commander of the Kuwait Army (1953-1954)

#	Name	Rank	Tenure From	Tenure Until	Note
1	Mubarak Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	Captain	1953	1954	Deputy commander of Kuwait Army (1954-1963) partnering Directorate of Public Security Force until 1953. Founder and patron of Kuwait 25th Commando Brigade in 1960. 1st Chief of the General Staff of the Kuwait Armed Forces in 1963. The Mubarak al-Abdullah Joint Command and Staff College is named after him.

List of Ministers of Interior and Deputy Prime Ministers (1962-present)

The ministers of interior of Kuwait since 1962:

#	Name	Title	Interior Tenure From	Interior Tenure Until	Note
1	Saad Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	17 January 1962	16 February 1978	14th Ruler and 4th Emir of Kuwait (2006), The Father Emir. Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences, which is in charge of training personnel of the Kuwait Police, is named after him.
2	Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	16 February 1978	18 March 1978	15th Ruler and 5th Emir of Kuwait (2006- Present).
3	Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	19 March 1978	12 July 1986	Crown Prince of Kuwait (2006- Present).
4	Salem Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	26 January 1988	20 June 1990
5	Sheikh Ahmad Al Homoud Al Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	20 April 1991	17 October 1992
6	Sheikh Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	13 April 1994	15 October 1996	Ali Al-Sabah Military College, which is in charge of training personnel of the Kuwait Armed Forces, is named after him.
7	Mohammad Al Khalid Al Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	15 October 1996	13 July 2003
8	Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	13 July 2003	9 February 2006	Crown Prince of Kuwait (2006- Present).
9	Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	9 February 2006	28 October 2007	Prime Minister of Kuwait (2011- Present).
10	Sheikh Jaber Al Khaled Al Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	28 October 2007	6 February 2011	Chief of the General Staff of Kuwait Armed Forces (1992-1993) following the Gulf War.
11	Sheikh Ahmad Al Homoud Al Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	6 February 2011	4 August 2013
12	Mohammad Al Khalid Al Sabah	Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior	4 August 2013	—

Organization and activities

The major responsibilities of the ministry are public security, and law and order. The major internal security organization under the ministry is the national police. The ministry is also responsible for managing the election process together with the ministry of justice.

The ministry has 48 service centers and 62 police stations in Capital, Farwaniya, Jahra, Hawalli, Ahmadi, and Mubarak Al Kabir regions across Kuwait. In 2008, a rehabilitation center was launched in the ministry in order to deal with those Kuwaiti citizens holding radical religious views. The ministry established special teams consisting of members of non-governmental organizations to eliminate vote-buying before the 2012 general elections.