Kuwait Times

Kuwait, Dec 7: Kuwait Times Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Yousuf Saleh Alyan passed away Wednesday morning. He was 75. A pioneer in the field of Kuwait's journalism, Alyan founded the first daily newspaper in the Arab Gulf region in 1961.

Among only a handful of Kuwaitis who traveled to Europe in the first half of the twentieth century, Yousuf Alyan studied economics in London and obtained a degree in 1955 before returning to his native land. He worked as an envoy to France for the Saudi Arabian government, appointed during the reign of King Saud.

He spoke several languages including Arabic, English, French, Italian and Persian. On September 24, 1961, Alyan launched the first daily newspaper and the first English language newspaper in the Arab Gulf.

He was one of the founding members of the Kuwait Journalists Association (KJA) and served as its honorary chairman. He served five terms as chairman of the KJA, in 1978-79, 1980-81, 1982-83, 1984-85 and 1990-92. Throughout his lifetime, Alyan, born on Sept 12, 1932, traveled widely and met many key business and political figures. He was also honored by several world heads of state.

Soft spoken and serious, Alyan had lived to see the dramatic changes brought about by the advent of oil wealth in Kuwait. Alyan saw a free press as a fundamental necessity for a functioning democracy and hailed Kuwait's long tradition of free speech and freedom for its citizenry. Alyan was also Editor-in-Chief of Al-Fajr Al-Jadid newspaper between 1991 and 1992, issued after the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait.Kuwait's Information Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah told KUNA that, "Kuwait has lost one of its patriotic sons who contributed to the building of Kuwait's journalism and the establishment of KJA."