KUWAIT CITY - Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah will leave Wednesday for the United States for "scheduled" medical check-ups, the official KUNA news agency reported Tuesday.
KUNA did not elaborate on the nature of the tests, but the 76-year-old emir, who has ruled the oil-rich Gulf Arab state for 27 years, suffered a brain hemorrhage in September 2001 and spent four months recovering in Britain.
Last August, Sheikh Jaber spent about 10 days undergoing medical examinations at a New York hospital.
Since returning, he has carried out most of his official duties, including receiving world leaders, but has stopped attending outdoor official functions and celebrations.
The last time the emir was seen in public was on October 26 last year when he opened parliament's new term, but official television and the local press regularly carry his pictures receiving world dignitaries and local officials.
He has delegated almost all his public duties to his half-brother, Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who runs day-to-day affairs due to the illness of Crown Prince Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah.
The 74-year-old Sheikh Saad, who is heir to the emir, underwent colon surgery several years ago.
Sheikh Jaber is one of the main political architects who shepherded his Gulf emirate from a subsistence economy to market capitalism, mostly thanks to oil wealth.
05/17/2005 11:56 GMT