Ex-Kuwaiti lawmaker Al Qitami dead

Manama: Former Kuwaiti lawmaker Jasem Al Qitami died on Friday after his health deteriorated at the hospital where he was receiving treatment. He was 83.

Known for his human rights activism, Al Qitami was a founding member and first president of Kuwait’s human rights society.

He was also known for his active involvement in sports and was the first president of the football association and a pioneer in the Olympic movement in the 1950s before Kuwait became independent.

In the 1950s, he was one of the founders of the pan-Arab movement in Kuwait and of the national rally in the 1970s.

He played an important role in 1961 in defending Kuwait as the foreign ministry undersecretary against Iraq’s claims to the newly independent country.

He was a member of the first Kuwaiti parliament in 1963, but resigned to press for more reforms.