The 1972 Qatari coup d'état was a bloodless palace coup that took place in

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

on 22 February 1972. The coup was carried out by the heir apparent and

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani (; 17 September 1932 – 23 October 2016) was the Emir of Qatar from 1972 Qatari coup d'état, 27 February 1972 until he was deposed by his son Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Hamad bin Khalifa in a 1995 Qatari coup d'� ...

, who took control of the country while his cousin,

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani, was on a visit to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. While many

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

news outlets referred to the event as a coup, the Qatari population merely considered it to be a succession of power.

Aftermath

The initial activity of the new Emir was the process of the reorganization of the government. The process saw a dramatic shift in the hierarchy of authority. Khalifa bin Hamad immensely reduced the traditional powers afforded to the heir apparent while projecting all of the power onto himself. He appointed

Suhaim bin Hamad Al Thani Suhaim bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani (; 1933 – 21 August 1985) was a member of the House of Thani, ruling family of Qatar who served as the country's foreign minister. His brother, Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, was the ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

; he also appointed an adviser to himself regarding the day-to-day affairs. Furthermore, he limited the financial privileges of members of the ruling

Al Thani The House of Thani () is the ruling family of Qatar, with origins tracing back to the Adnanites, Adnanite Banu Tamim tribe. Today Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his mother Moza bint Nasser, Moza bint Nassir lead the house. History and structure ...

family. After his deposition, the former Emir lived in exile in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and chose to remain in exile until his death in 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972 Qatari Coup D'etat Conflicts in 1972 Coup d'etat, 1972 coup d'etat

Military history of Qatar Military coups in Qatar February 1972 in Asia

Aftermath

See also

References