The Emir of the State of Qatar () is the

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". 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 ...

and

head of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 "

he head of state He or HE may refer to: Language * He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads * He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English * He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana) * Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter cal ...

being an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

of the country. The emir 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. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

and guarantor of the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. The emir holds the most powerful position in the country, and has a prominent role in

foreign relations Foreign policy, also known as external policy, is the set of strategies and actions a State (polity), state employs in its interactions with other states, unions, and international entities. It encompasses a wide range of objectives, includ ...

. The emirs are members of the

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

, whose origins are in the

Banu Tamim The Banū Tamīm () are an Arab tribe that originated in Najd and Hejaz in the Arabian Peninsula. It is mainly present in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Jordan and Lebanon, and has a strong presence in Algeria, and Morocco, Palestine, ...

, 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 use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

in the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. The current ruler is

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 3 June 1980) is Emir of Qatar, reigning since 2013. Tamim is the fourth son of former emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, born to his second spouse, Moza bint Nasser, Moza bint Nassir. He became heir ...

, who succeeded on 25 June 2013.

Historical background

All the emirs of Qatar have been members of the

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.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 Mohammed bin Thani (; – 18 December 1878), also known as Mohammed bin Thani bin Mohammed Al Thamir (), was the first ruler from the House of Thani to rule the whole Qatari Peninsula, officially being recognized by the British in September ...

is recognised as the first ruler from 1851 when he united 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 (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

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 Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani (; – 17 July 1913), also known as "The Founder", was the founder of the State of Qatar. He had a total of 56 children, 19 sons and 37 daughters. Early life Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani was born around 1825. ...

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 (), 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. ...

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 List of monarchs of the Netherlands, Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest- ...

, 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 Dukhan () is a city in the western municipality of Al-Shahaniya, Qatar. It is approximately west of the capital, Doha. Dukhan is administered by Qatar's state oil agency QatarEnergy and is the site of the first oil discovery in Qatar. It was pr ...

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 Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 1 January 1952) is a member of Qatar's royal family, the House of Thani. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 until 2013 when he abdicated the throne, handing power to his fourth son Tamim bin Hamad Al ...

. The order of succession 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 ...

is determined by appointments within the

. The former emir of Qatar, Sheikh

(), appointed his fourth son, Sheikh

(), as heir apparent on 5 August 2003, after his older son Sheikh

Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (; born 25 August 1978) is the former heir apparent of Qatar. He is the third son of the former Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and the first child of the Emir with his second wife, Sheikh ...

(who held the position between 1996 and 2003) renounced his rights to the throne in favour of Sheikh Tamim.

List of rulers

References

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

Historical background

Succession

List of rulers

See also

References