Monarch and head of state of Qatar
The
emir of the State of
Qatar
(
Arabic
:
???? ???? ???
) is the
monarch
and
head of state
of the country. The emir is also the
commander-in-chief
of the
Armed Forces
and guarantor of the
Constitution
. The emir holds the most
powerful
position in the country, and has a prominent role in
foreign relations
.
The emirs are members of the
House of Al Thani
, whose origins are in the
Banu Tamim
, one of the largest
tribes
in the
Arabian Peninsula
. The present ruler is
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
, who succeeded on 25 June 2013.
[1]
Historical background
[
edit
]
There have been eight rulers of
Qatar
, all members of the
Al Thani
family.
[2]
[3]
Sheikh
Mohammed bin Thani
is recognised as the first ruler from 1851 when he achieved union of the country's tribes under his leadership.
[4]
Qatar became part of the
Ottoman Empire
in 1871, although Sheikh Mohammed retained control of its internal affairs.
[4]
[5]
Following his army's victory at the
Battle of Al Wajbah
in March 1893, the second ruler Sheikh
Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani
has been recognised as Founder of the State of Qatar, although it remained part of the Ottoman Empire until July 1913.
[6]
The Ottomans maintained a military presence in Qatar until August 1915 and Sheikh
Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani
signed the Anglo-Qatari Treaty on 3 November 1916. Sheikh Abdullah was the Qatari ruler from 1913 to 1949 and is one of the few, including Queen
Wilhelmina of the Netherlands
, whose tenure extended through both world wars (1914?1945). Qatar's first oil well was drilled in October 1938 and oil was found at
Dukhan
in January 1940.
[7]
Qatar became an independent state on 3 September 1971 and, since then, the ruler has been styled emir (amir).
[8]
Succession
[
edit
]
The permanent constitution of the state of Qatar published in 2005 dictates that the rule is hereditary and limited to descendants of
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
. The order of succession in
Qatar
is determined by appointments within the
House of Al Thani
.
[9]
The former emir of Qatar, Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
(
Arabic
:
????? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????
), appointed his fourth son, Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
(
Arabic
:
????? ???? ?? ??? ?? ????
), as heir apparent on 5 August 2003, after his older son Sheikh
Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
(who held the position between 1996 and 2003) renounced his rights to the throne in favour of Sheikh Tamim.
[10]
Career
[
edit
]
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the
Qatar Armed Forces
upon graduation from Sandhurst.
[11]
He became the heir apparent to the Qatar throne on 5 August 2003, when his elder brother
Sheikh Jassim
renounced his claim to the title.
[12]
[11]
Since then he was groomed to take over rule, working in top security and economics posts.
[13]
On 5 August 2003, he was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of Qatar's armed forces.
[11]
Sheikh Tamim promoted sport as part of Qatar's bid to raise its international profile.
[13]
In 2005 he founded
Oryx Qatar Sports Investments
, which owns
Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
among other investments.
List of rulers
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"Qatari emir Hamad hands power to son Tamim"
.
BBC News
. 25 June 2013
. Retrieved
25 June
2013
.
- ^
Qatar's Rulers
.
Amiri Diwan
. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^
His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
.
Amiri Diwan
. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^
a
b
c
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Thani
.
Amiri Diwan
. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^
Rogan, Eugene; Murphey, Rhoads; Masalha, Nur; Durac, Vincent; Hinnebusch, Raymond (November 1999). "Review of The Ottoman Gulf: The Creation of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar by Frederick F. Anscombe; The Blood-Red Arab Flag: An Investigation into Qasimi Piracy, 1797?1820 by Charles E. Davies; The Politics of Regional Trade in Iraq, Arabia and the Gulf, 1745?1900 by Hala Fattah".
British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
.
26
(2): 339?342.
doi
:
10.1080/13530199908705688
.
JSTOR
195948
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Bin Thani
.
Amiri Diwan
. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^
Sheikh Abdullah Bin Jassim Al Thani
.
Amiri Diwan
. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^
a
b
Sheikh Ahmad Bin Ali Al Thani
.
Amiri Diwan
. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^
"The State and the Basis of its Rule"
.
Al Meezan
. State of Qatar. 2022
. Retrieved
11 July
2022
.
- ^
"New Qatar crown prince named"
.
BBC News
. 5 August 2003
. Retrieved
17 March
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Profile: Qatar Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Khalifa Al Thani"
. BBC. 25 June 2013.
Archived
from the original on 27 June 2013
. Retrieved
25 June
2013
.
- ^
"Sheikh Tamim's biography"
.
Qatar News Agency
. Archived from
the original
on 9 May 2013.
- ^
a
b
"Qatar's Sheikh Tamim: 33-year-old groomed for power"
. AFP. 25 June 2013. Archived from
the original
on 27 February 2014
. Retrieved
25 June
2013
.
- ^
"Qatar National Day: Our History"
. ndqatar.com. Archived from
the original
on 10 January 2012
. Retrieved
5 August
2012
.
- ^
"Qatar PM seizes power from cousin"
.
Ottawa Citizen
. Beirut. AP. 23 February 1972
. Retrieved
27 June
2013
.
- ^
"Prince deposes father in Qatar"
.
Deseret News
. 27 June 1995
. Retrieved
26 June
2013
.
- ^
"Qatar's Father Emir flown to Switzerland to treat broken leg"
.
Doha News
. 29 December 2015
. Retrieved
6 April
2016
.