(Bloomberg) -- Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has been chosen by Kuwait’s new emir to serve as crown prince, a choice that bucks the trend in other Gulf Arab states to start shifting power into younger hands.

The selection of the octogenarian Sheikh Meshaal, half brother of the current emir and his recently deceased predecessor, sends the strongest signal yet that stability and continuity are the highest priorities of the new ruler, the 83-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The nomination now needs the endorsement of a simple majority of parliament.

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