June 28, 2005 

MEDIA CONTACT:
Eric Solomon: (202) 994-3087, solomone@gwu.edu

GW TO HONOR KUWAITI PRIME MINISTER HIS HIGHNESS
SHEIKH SABAH AL-AHMAD AL-JABER AL-SABAH AT CONVOCATION
JUNE 30

WHAT: 

The George Washington University will present Kuwaiti Prime Minister His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah with an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree.

WHEN: 

Thursday, June 30, 2005
11 a.m., reception to follow

WHERE: 

The George Washington University
Media and Public Affairs Building
Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
(Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro Station, Blue and Orange lines)

**Media interested in attending should RSVP to
Eric Solomon at (202) 994-3087**

BACKGROUND:

His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is one of the longest-serving government officials in the Middle East. Sheikh Sabah began his government career in 1954 and was a member of the founding commission that drafted the constitution of the State of Kuwait. In 1963, just after Kuwait became independent, Sheikh Sabah was named foreign minister. That same year he hoisted the first flag of the State of Kuwait to fly over the United Nations building in New York. He served as foreign minister for 40 years. 

In July 2003, Sheikh Sabah was appointed prime minister of the State of Kuwait. During the past two years Kuwait, under the leadership of the Amir and the prime minister, has been a close ally of the United States in this country's operations in Iraq. Additionally, Sheikh Sabah played a central role in the passage of a law in June 2005 that granted Kuwaiti women the right to vote and hold office, a major triumph in broadening the political landscape in Kuwait.
 
At the convocation, Sheikh Sabah will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. The honorary degree is the highest honor The George Washington University can confer, and the Doctor of Laws degree is one of the oldest forms of an honorary degree. Traditionally, The George Washington University confers the Doctor of Laws degree on distinguished men and women in public life, including Presidents of the United States (John F. Kennedy in 1961), heads of state (Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in 1999), and cabinet officers.  Additionally, three current members of the United States Supreme Court, including Chief Justice William Rehnquist, hold the honorary Doctor of Laws degree from The George Washington University.

For more information about this event, contact GW?s University Events
office at (202) 994-7129.
For more news about GW, visit the GW News Center at www.gwnewscenter.org.

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