The Daily Star BEIRUT — Lebanese leaders offered their condolences Tuesday to Kuwait after the death of its ruling Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. “He was a great brother to Lebanon and an example of chivalry, moderation and wisdom,” President Michel Aoun tweeted. “He stood by the Lebanese in the difficult circumstances they went through, rebuilt many Lebanese cities and villages, and launched many development and urban projects. His absence will be a great loss,” Aoun continued. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said Sabah would be missed by “Lebanon, Kuwait, the Arab and Islamic worlds and humanity as a whole.” He described the late Emir as “a voice that speaks nothing but the truth … and a white hand that heals the wounds and rifts in the body of the nation.”

Future Movement head Saad Hariri wrote on Twitter that Sabah occupied “a page of Arab history written in golden letters.” He described him as “a great man who moved the levers of government and responsibility over decades” and that his legacy was “rich in achievements, successes and initiatives.” Sabah “championed Arab and Muslim causes, and did not abandon Lebanon in the most difficult circumstances,” Hariri wrote. Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati meanwhile described Sabah as “the prince of diplomacy” in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency. Sabah was “the voice of conscience in all Arab and international forums, calling for unity and reconciliation between brothers in times of disagreements and crises,” Mikati said. “Lebanon and the Lebanese people had a special affection in the heart of the late Emir, as he was at the core of all the efforts that were made to address the Lebanese crisis, most notably in the era of the Taif conference in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he continued. The Taif Accord put an end to the 1975-90 Lebanese Civil War and established parity in representation between Christians and Muslims in the political system.