Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani (; 5 June 1895 – 31 August 1974) was the

Emir of Qatar The Emir of the State of Qatar () 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 ...

. Sheikh Ali was also the first Emir of Qatar to have migrated and traveled abroad, visiting India, Egypt, Europe, Lebanon and the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

Biography

Early life and reign

Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani was born on 25 June 1895, in

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

. His father was Sheikh

Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani (), also known as Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani or Sheikh Abdullah bin Qassim Al Thani, was the Emir of Qatar from 1913 to 1949. Oil was discovered in Qatar for the first time during his rule. ...

. He had a younger brother, Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, and a half brother, Sheikh Hassan bin Abdullah Al Thani. He became the emir of Qatar on 20 August 1949, after his father retired due to poor physical health. According to the US Consul in

Dhahran Dhahran (, ) is a city located in the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. With a total population of 143,936 as of 2022, it is a major administrative center for the History of the oil industry in Saudi Arabia, Saudi ...

, M. R. Rutherford, in a 1950 report on the prominent personalities of Qatar, he wrote "I am not in position to remark extensively upon the character of Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani; his reputation as a tough is well established." He went on to further state, that he displayed a remarkable lack of interest in the outside world and even in his own immediate surroundings. Among the close early

confidant The confidant ( or ; feminine: confidante, same pronunciation) is a character in a story whom a protagonist confides in and trusts. Confidants may be other principal characters, characters who command trust by virtue of their position such as ...

of the sheikh were Saleh Al Mana and several members of the

Darwish Darwish and Darvish (and in French more prominently Darwich and Darwiche) are alternate transliterations of the Persian word "dervish", used in , referring to a Sufi aspirant. There is no v sound in most Modern Arabic dialects and so the originall ...

family. He is also known as the first emir of Qatar to have visited other countries abroad. His reign also saw emphasis on education and infrastructure. After his abdication, he lived in Qatar for a few years during which he was very sociable and befriended many Muslim scholars.

Events during his rule

During his reign, Sheikh Ali oversaw the very first shipment of onshore Qatari oil from the port city in

Mesaieed Mesaieed (, also transliterated as ''Umm Sa'id'') is an industrial city in Al Wakrah Municipality south of the Qatari capital Doha. It was one of the most important cities in Qatar during the 20th century, having gained recognition as a prime ...

on 31 December 1949, marking Qatar's entry into the oil age. His reign saw the establishment of the first regular school for boys, the first regular school for girls, the funding of university places and the construction of the first permanent hospital. In addition to these, Sheikh Ali also oversaw the construction of the

Doha International Airport Doha International Airport () is an airport in Doha, Qatar. It was Qatar's commercial international airport until Hamad International Airport opened on 27 May 2014. While all scheduled commercial traffic ceased, the airport site and existing ru ...

, several road networks, and water, electricity and port facilities. He also established additional government departments and ministries as well as the first joint stock companies. Ronald Cochrane was made responsible for organizing the police force in Qatar. Phillip Plant, a former British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer, was appointed as adviser to the emir in January 1950. In August 1950, Britain appointed Arthur John Wilton as the first Political Officer in Qatar. On 1 September 1952, a new treaty was signed between Sheikh Ali and the Iraq Petroleum Company (later the Qatar Petroleum Company). Under the terms of these agreements, Qatar acquired 50% of profits from oil exports. In line with the exploration of oil in Qatar, Sheikh Ali took steps to establish an effective administrative system to manage the rising economy of oil. Numerous protests during the mid-1950s were directed at Sheikh Ali. In the early 1950s, there were many protests by dissatisfied oil workers aimed towards the oil companies. He acted as a mediator for discussions between oil companies and demonstrators. By 1956, protests appeared in Doha and started displaying a more hostile attitude towards the Emir. One of the largest protests took place that year; it drew 2,000 participants, most of whom were oil workers and high-ranking Qataris allied with Arab nationalists. In May 1960, a cousin of Sheikh Ali attempted to assassinate him with a firearm at the Sheikh's holiday residence in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

. The assassination attempt was allegedly related to finances. He abdicated in favor of

Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani Ahmad bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani (; 1922 – 25 November 1977) was the Emir of Qatar who ruled from 1960 to 1972. Qatar's financial status improved significantly during his reign as a result of the enrichment and disc ...

on 28 October 1960.

Post-abdication

After befriending numerous Muslim scholars after his abdication, he started printing many historical Islamic books that were never printed before; these were printed in the Al Maktab Al Islami in Lebanon. Sheikh Ali became

diabetic Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

in his later years and lived in his home in Lebanon, where he was taken care of by Nasib Albarbir. He died afterwards in the Barbir Hospital in

on 31 August 1974. His body was flown back to Qatar, where he was buried in a cemetery in the municipality of

Al Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipalities of Qatar, municipality in Qatar. Its primary settlement is the Al Rayyan (city), city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and is a part of the Do ...

Marriage and children

Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani married two wives: Sheikha Hamda Al-Thani and Sheikha Maryam bint Abdullah Al Attiyah. He has 13 children, 11 sons and 2 daughters. *Sheikh Qassim bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh

*Sheikh Muhammed bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh Fahad bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh Ghanim bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh Hamad bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh Khalid bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikh Al Waleed bin Ali Al Thani *Sheikha Mariam bint Ali Al Thani (1942 – 21 May 2014) *Sheikha Bothaina bint Ali Al-Thani

References

External links

The Al Thani Family Tree, offered in ArabicOfficial Page in The Al Thani Family Tree
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani 1895 births 1974 deaths Ali Abdulla Jassim Ali Abdullah Jassim Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century Arab people 20th-century monarchs in the Middle East Monarchs who abdicated