Sabah I bin Jaber
His Highness Sheikh Abu Salman Sabah I bin Jaber Al Sabah was the first ruler of Kuwait. The official Kuwaiti history states that he was unanimously chosen for the position of sheikh.Reign of Sabah bin Jaber
The newly settled family, Bani Utbah, quickly sent its leader, Sabah bin Jaber, to the Ottoman governor of Iraq in order to declare his allegiance to the Ottoman Sultan, who was also the Caliph of Sunni Muslims. He did this in order to gain a legitimate status. Thus Kuwait became a virtually independent city with Sabah bin Jaber as its first ruler, in spite of it nominally being under Ottoman control. Upon his death Sabah I was succeeded by his youngest son, Abdullah bin Sabah.
