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The Emir, or Amir, of the State of
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
( ar, أمیر دولة قطر) is the
monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
and
head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state (polity), state#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international p ...
of the country. He is also the commander-in-chief of the
Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and guarantor of the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...
. He 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 Banū Tamīm ( ar, بَنُو تَمِيم) is an Arab tribe that originated in Najd in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and has a strong presence in Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia ...
, one of the largest
tribes The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confl ...
in the Arabian Peninsula. The present ruler is
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani ( ar, تميم بن حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني; born 3 June 1980, Doha, Qatar) is the Emir of Qatar who succeeded his father, Sheikh Hamad, after Hamad abdicated in his favour. Tamim is the fourth son ...
, who succeeded on 25 June 2013.


Historical background

There have been eight rulers of
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
, all members of the Al Thani family.Qatar's Rulers
''Amiri Diwan''. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
''His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani''
''Amiri Diwan''. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani is recognised as the first ruler from 1851 when he achieved union of the country's tribes under his leadership.Sheikh Mohammed Bin Thani
''Amiri Diwan''. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
Qatar became part of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in 1871, although Sheikh Mohammed retained control of its internal affairs. 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.Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Bin Thani
''Amiri Diwan''. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
The Ottomans maintained a military presence in Qatar until August 1915 and Sheikh
Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, عبد الله بن جاسم بن محمد آل ثاني "Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani"), also known as Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani or Sheikh Abdullah bin Qassim 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 Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Her reign saw World Wa ...
, 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.Sheikh Abdullah Bin Jassim Al Thani
''Amiri Diwan''. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
Qatar became an independent state on 3 September 1971 and, since then, the ruler has been styled Emir (Amir).Sheikh Ahmad Bin Ali Al Thani
''Amiri Diwan''. Retrieved 11 July 2022.


Succession

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 Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 ...
. The order of succession in
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
is determined by appointments within the House of Al Thani. The former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن خليفة الثاني; born 1 January 1952) is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 ...
( ar, الشيخ حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني), appointed his fourth son, Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani ( ar, تميم بن حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني; born 3 June 1980, Doha, Qatar) is the Emir of Qatar who succeeded his father, Sheikh Hamad, after Hamad abdicated in his favour. Tamim is the fourth son ...
( ar, الشيخ تميم بن حمد آل ثاني), 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.


Career

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Qatar Armed Forces upon graduation from Sandhurst. 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. Since then he was groomed to take over rule, working in top security and economics posts. On 5 August 2003, he was appointed deputy commander-in-chief of Qatar's armed forces. Sheikh Tamim promoted sport as part of Qatar's bid to raise its international profile. In 2005 he founded Oryx Qatar Sports Investments, which owns Paris Saint-Germain F.C. among other investments.


List of rulers


See also

* House of Al Thani * Politics of Qatar * List of prime ministers of Qatar


References

{{Qatar topics Qatar, Emirs * Qatar politics-related lists