Since gaining its independence from Britain in 1961, Kuwait has been a constitutional monarchy whose ruler, called the Emir, has episodically shared some power with a National Assembly elected by adult male Kuwaitis. The reopening of this parliamentary body, suspended once in 1976 and again in 1986, became the goal of the pro-democracy Constitutionalist Movement in 1989-90. A compromise National Council, partially elected and partially appointed and with more limited power, was convened by the Emir just prior to the Iraqi invasion in 1990 and reconvened following the liberation in 1991. This did not, however, placate the popular opposition, which prompted the Emir to schedule elections for October 1992.