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Qatar The Al Thani
In the early 1990s, the Al Thani ruling family
comprised
three main branches: the Bani Hamad, headed by Khalifa ibn
Hamad
(r. 1972- ); the Bani Ali, headed by Ahmad ibn Ali; and
the Bani
Khalid, headed by Nasir ibn Khalid (minister of economy
and
commerce in 1984). The family had 20,000 members,
according to
one estimate.
The two preindependence rulers, Ali ibn Abd Allah (r.
1949-
60) and his son, Ahmad ibn Ali (r. 1960-72), had no
particular
interest in supervising daily government, content to hunt
in Iran
and Pakistan and spend time at their villa in Switzerland.
Thus,
somewhat by default, those duties were assumed, beginning
in the
1950s, by Ahmad ibn Ali's cousin, Khalifa ibn Hamad, the
heir
apparent and deputy ruler. By 1971 Khalifa ibn Hamad not
only had
served as prime minister but also had headed the
ministries or
departments of foreign affairs, finance and petroleum,
education
and culture, and police and internal security.
On February 22, 1972, with the support of the Al Thani,
Khalifa ibn Hamad assumed power as ruler of Qatar. Western
sources frequently refer to the event as an overthrow.
Qataris
regarded Khalifa ibn Hamad's assumption of full power as a
simple
succession because leading members of the Al Thani had
declared
Khalifa ibn Hamad the heir apparent on October 24, 1960,
and it
was their consensus that Ahmad ibn Ali should be replaced.
The reasons for the transfer of power were not entirely
clear. Khalifa ibn Hamad reportedly stated that his
assumption of
power was intended "to remove the elements that tried to
hinder
[Qatar's] progress and modernization." Khalifa ibn Hamad
has
consistently attempted to lead and to control the process
of
modernization caused by the petroleum industry boom and
the
concomitant influx of foreigners and foreign ideas so that
traditional mores and values based on Islam can be
preserved. He
and other influential members of the ruling family are
known to
have been troubled by the financial excesses of many
members of
the Al Thani. Ahmad ibn Ali reportedly drew one-fourth,
and the
entire Al Thani between one-third and one-half, of Qatar's
oil
revenues in 1971. The new ruler severely limited the
family's
financial privileges soon after taking power.
Family intrigue may also have played a part in the
change of
rulers. Factionalism and rivalries are not uncommon,
particularly
in families as large as the Al Thani. Western observers
have
reported rumors that Khalifa ibn Hamad acted to assume
power when
he learned that Ahmad ibn Ali might be planning to
substitute his
son, Abd al Aziz, as heir apparent, a move that would have
circumvented the declared consensus of the Al Thani.
Data as of January 1993
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