team+13+Qatar

= = =__Introduction__=

Qatar is a sovereign Arab state or also known as Dawlat Qatar. It is a small peninsula branching of a bigger peninsula commonly known as the Arab Peninsula. The sole land border of Qatar is Saudi Arabia, the rest of the state is surrounded by the Persian Gulf. Qatar is an Absolute Monarchy whereby the emir of Qatar is the absolute ruler.

The current system in which the emir rules was adopted when Sheikh Mohammed Bin Thani signed a treaty with the British Colonel that recognized Qatar as their own independent state in 1868. Ever since 1868, Qatar has been ruled under members from the Thani family. In almost all cases, it has usually been a dynastic father to son transfer of power, but not at all times.

Qatar considers its independence to be in 1971 when Emir Ahmad Al-Thani signed a treaty with Britain to become its own nation without being under a British Protectorate. It is from here the modern day Qatar is formed.

( Authra Khreis)

=__**Emirs**__=

= **Sheikh Mohammed Bin Thani: 1868-1878** =

Sheikh Mohammad Bin Thani was the first ruler of Qatar from the Thani family. He was born in Fuwarait and after his father Thani Bin Mohammed passed away, he then became the leader of the tribe.

In 1847, the Al-Thani Family moved from Fuwarait to Doha. It was then, Sheikh Mohammad, strengthened his influence throughout Qatar. However, his influence was not limited to Qatar ; he made an alliance with Faisal Bin Turki (Emir of the second Saudi state) which extended his power throughout the Arabian Peninsula.

On September 12, 1868 Sheikh Mohammed signed a treaty with Colonel Lewis Pelly (a British resident in the Gulf) that recognized their independence.

In, 1871 Sheikh Mohammed proposed to the Ottomans at Al-Hasa for protection against any external attacks. In 1872, the Ottoman Occupation of Doha had ended.

In 1876, he handed over the title of amir to his son; and in 1879 Sheikh Mohammad had passed away.

(Authra Khreis)

**Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Al Thani 1878- July**,**1913**
= = Jassim Bin Mohammad Al Thani was born in 1825, a descendant of the Tamim tribe. He succeeded power from his father in 1876 and was given the Ottoman title Qaim-Maqam meaning the Deputy Governor. Jassim Bin Mohammed is acknowledged as the founder of modern day Qatar. == The state witnessed major events and changes during his time of rule. He aspired to turn Qatar into a single unified and independent state. By guiding his policies with wisdom he succeeded to consolidate and define its borders and existence.

In April 1871, 22 years before was appointed deputy by his father Sheikh Mohammad Bin Thani the Ottoman Governor of Baghdad, to Eastern Arabia, Midhet Pash sen t an expedition to Qatar to try and increase influence throughout the area. Sheikh Jassim agreed to letting them have some presence in th e area but asked the Ottoman administration to solidify their presence. The Ottomans then used Albidaa Fortress as headquarters of their military base. In return, Midget Pash gave him the title of Governor of Qatar.

In 1876, once Shaikh Jassim became emir, hostilities started to brew between the Ottoman empire and Qatar.The Ottomans were hungry for more power in the area; they weren't too happy and felt as they were loosing control of the area when they found out the British had a presence in the country. In an effort to increase their influence throughout the area Medhat Pasha wrote to Sheikh Jassim in hopes to increase their military presence in Qatar, which Sheikh Jassim refused.

Sheikh Jassim opposed Ottoman influences by setting up administration in Zubarah, Doha, Al Awakrah, and Khawar Al Udayd establishing a customs office and reinforcing the Ottoman garrison. This lead to a military confrontation and a essential battle to Qatars history broke out; it was named the battle of Al-Wajba. Sheikh Jassam and his troops although outnumbered fought bravely against the Ottomans, it was a victorious battle for the Qataris.

Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammad died in July 1913.

(Authra Khreis)

**Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani: July 17, 1913 - August 20, 1949**

Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani was born in 1871 in Doha, the capital city of Qatar. At the age of 42, Abdullah became the emir of Qatar.

Sheikh Abdullah was granted full rights to rule over the Qatari Peninsula by Britain and the Ottoman Empire. In 1915, Sheikh Abdullah successfully forced the Ottomans to abandon the city of Doha. This was a result of the outbreak of World War I.

In 1916, Britain wanted to bring Qatar under its Trucial System of Administration. Sheikh Abdullah complied, and on November 3 of that year, he signed a treaty with them. The treaty gave full protection to Qatar from any potential sea attacks. It also forbade Qatar from forming relationships with other countries without getting authorization from Britain beforehand.

Throughout Sheikh Abdullah’s rule, oil was a major conflict. Britain and the United States were quarreling over Qatar’s resources. May of 1935 brought about two major events. On May 5, Sheikh Abdullah attained support from Britain that enhanced the country’s protection. In addition to receiving protection from inside attacks, Qatar was also defended from outside attacks. On May 17, Sheikh Abdullah signed an Oil Concession Agreement with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. It was the first of its kind.

Drilling for oil started in October of 1938, and continued into 1940. Although oil was found at the Dukhan structure, the wells were capped due to the advancement of World War II.

Signing a Seabed Concession with Central Mining and Investment Corporation Ltd. on August 5, 1949, was Sheik Abdullah’s final significant act as Emir. This concession would eventually lead to major oil revenue for the country of Qatar, and would transform the economy. Sheikh Abdullah died on April 25, 1957, at the age of 86.

(Joelle Montier)

**Sir Hafiz Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed al Thani: August 20, 1949 - October 24, 1960**

Sir Hafiz Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed al Thani was born in 1892. He was the son of Sheikh Abdullah. He became the ruler of Qatar on August 20, 1948. Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani continued to usher Qatar into the oil industry. On December 31, 1949, Qatar oil was shipped from the Mesaieed terminal. It was the first shipment of onshore Qatari oil.

On September 1, 1952, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani signed an agreement with the Iraq Petroleum Company. A key term from the agreement ensured that Qatar received 50% of all oil export profits. Iraq Petroleum Company was eventually renamed Qatar Petroleum Company.

Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani was an advocate for organized education and infrastructure. He placed an emphasis on properly managing Qatar’s flourishing oil economy. Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani commission Ronald Cochrane to organize a Qatari police force. In January 1950, the Sheikh selected Phillip Plant to be his advisor. Plant had previously been a British Royal Air Force officer.

Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al Thani was the first ruler to appoint a a political officer.

Sheikh Ali bin Abduallah Al Thani suffered from Diabetes in his later years. He died in Beirut on August 31, 1974, and was flown back to Qatar to be buried.

(Joelle Montier)

**Emir Ahmad bin Ali Al-Thani: October 24, 1960 - February 22, 1972**

Emir Ahmad bin Ali Al-Thani, born in 1917 to the royal Al Thani family, was the ruler of Qatar during the final years of the British Occupancy of the nation.

Emir Ahmad rose to power after his father, Sheikh Ali, relieved himself from power while passing down the responsibilities to Emir Ahmad. However, Emir Ahmad himself did not name any of his sons as the heir-apparent, which had been the tradition since his great-grandfather. He chose his cousin Sheikh Khalifa bin Al-Thani to take on this responsibility.

Due to all economic activities occurring in Qatar, Emir Ahmad felt it obligatory to dawn the Ministry of Finance into existence. In fact he appointed his heir-apparent cousin, Sheikh Khalifa, as the the Minister in November 1960, approximately a month after taking power. The discovery of many oil fields sparked a great economic evolution for Emir Ahmad in the early 1963-1965. Even though oil had been influential economically since the 1930s, it was at this time the first offshore refinery arose of its kind throughout the nation.

Qatari views hold that under Sheikh Ahmad, Qatar's institutional and governmental affairs started allowing for more structure to take place. Emir Ahmad established the Department of General Financial and Administrative Affairs and later the Department of Civil Services. This allowed the government to progress to asking for complete independence from Great Britain.

On April 2, 1970 Qatar finished inscribing its Constitution and later the next month on May 28, 1970 the first Council of Ministers were instated. With this, the next year Qatar was declared independent on September 3, 1971 and all previous treaties were nullified with Britain.

Emir Ahmad did not last long as the ruler after Qatar's independence. Over disputes as to how the country should be run with his heir-apparent cousin, the country sided in favor Sheikh Khalifa harvesting the banishment of Emir Ahmad from power by his family who felt they were doing a "corrective movement." He was exiled to Britain where he would spend his final years before passing away on November 25, 1977.

**Emir Khalifa bin Hamid Al-Thani: February 22, 1972- June 27, 1995**

Emir Khalifa bin Hamid Al-Thani was born in 1932 to ruling Al-Thani family and was the Emir during the a modernization period of Qatar.

When first becoming Emir in 1972, he established more ministries in the country to run judicial, social, and other economic affairs. This was the beginning of a newer Qatar to emerge through different reforms. The council of ministers would get disassembled and reoriented numerous times during Emir Khalifa's rule, each time increasing the number of members in these sectors.

Industrialization in Qatar emerged in the late 1970s as it established chemical plant, steel mills, and its well-known Petrochemical Complex in 1981.

Qatari's present that Emir Khalifa started establishing foreign relations, especially in the oil assortment in the 1980s which led to an exponential rise in the oil production in Qatar. Foreign Companies like Amoco started using Qatari Oil for their business ventures. However, Qatar's dependence on foreign labor increased during the 1970s through the 1980s in areas such as agriculture since citizens were finding high paying jobs in the diversity of government industries instated from the oil money earned.

Khalifa's views on democracy in his country were not very progressive. He did not allow elections to install the Qatari Advisory council on because he did not believe Qatar was ready for democracy as he said in a 1973 interview.

Emir Khalifa bin Al-thani had named his son, Sheikh Hamid, as the Heir-apparent. Sheikh Hamad became the new Emir in 1995 after overthrowing his father from power due to economic and foreign policy disputes. Emir Khalifa was in exile and lived in France thereafter. It was in 2004 that relations between father and son were reestablished and ex-Emir Khalifa was allowed back to his country.

**Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani: June 27, 1995- Present**

Emir Hamad is the current ruler of Qatar. He was born in 1952 to the long line of Al-Thani’s in power in Qatar.

Emir Hamad spent his teen years in Sandhurst Military Academy in Britain through the time when he graduated in 1971. His military life did not end as he later joined the Qatari Armed Forces and assumed the position as Colonel. His military achievements allowed him to advance from Lieutenant Colonel, to Commander of the First Mobile Regiment, to Major General, and had finally ended as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces while consecutively mutually being appointed as Minister of Defence in 1977 by his father, Emir Khalifa, the same year he was also appointed as Heir-Apparent of Qatar.

Qatar claims they have made reforms to democratization and indeed some reforms such as free press have been made. Aljazeera is a Doha-based news agency that has expanded its reports to the global public and has been and still is being supported and funded by Emir Hamad. In fact, Qatar is scheduled to hold its first democratic elections for the Advisory Council in 2013.

Human rights violations have not been considered a major problem for Qatar under Emir Hamad. The biggest concerns made by rights groups such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are that of freedom of religion. For example, during the month of Ramadan it is illegal for both Muslims and non-Muslims to eat in public. The use of alcohol of any kind is also forbidden unless a permit is acquired. Emir Hamad has named his fourth son, Emir Tamim, as the current Heir-Apparent of the nation of Qatar.

=**References**=

http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/Qatar/AbdullahBinQassim.htm (Joelle) http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/qatar/AliBinAbdullah.htm (Joelle)

[](Authra) http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/qatar/MohammedBinThan(Authra) @http://www.diwan.gov.qa/english/qatar/QassimBinMohammed.htm(Authra) [](Authra)