Jassem Al-Kharafi

Jassem Al-Kharafi
Born	1940 Kuwait City, Kuwait
Died	21 May 2015 (age 75)
Nationality	Kuwaiti
Known for	speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly from 1999 to 2011
Net worth	US$1.25 billion
Spouse(s)	married
Children	6
Parent(s)	Mohammed Al-Kharafi
Relatives	Nasser Al-Kharafi (brother) Faiza Al-Kharafi (sister) Fawzi Al-Kharafi (brother)

Jassem Al-Kharafi, (Arabic: جاسم محمد عبدالمحسن الخرافي‎‎), (1940 – May 21, 2015) was a Kuwaiti billionaire businessman who was the speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly from 1999 to 2011. Al-Kharafi studied Business Administration at the Manchester Trade Faculty in Kuwait and was director of M. A. Kharafi & Sons before being elected to the National Assembly in 1975. He affiliated with the liberal deputies and was regarded as a pro-government liberal. However, Al-Kharafi has broken with the royal family on occasion. He criticized the ruling Al-Sabah family, and in July 2006 vigorously denounced the Israeli attacks on Lebanon saying that the war would "turn us all into terrorists".

Al-Kharafi's family is wealthy. His brother Nasser was listed by Forbes as one of the richest people in the world. His sister, Faiza, was rector of Kuwait University. The University of Tirana on 7 October 2011 gave him an Honoris Causa title.

Jassem Al-Kharafi was born in Kuwait City in 1940, the son of Mohammed Abdul Mohsen Al-Kharafi, the founder of M. A. Kharafi & Sons.

On November 3, 2007, Al-Kharafi told the pan-Arab Arabiya television in an interview that he had "question marks" about Prime Minister Nasser Mohammed Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah's decisions. A transcript of the interview was published in Alrai daily, which included Al-Kharafi's comment that too many reshuffles necessitate "a review and an evaluation of what measures should be taken." Al-Kharafi said the reshuffle should not have been put off for the whole summer and that it indicated a "policy of patching" up problems, rather than solving them.

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