Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani became the fourth emir of Qatar after his father voluntarily resigned and retired. Voluntary abdication in favor of the heir is not too common in the Arab monarchies. It is likely that the reason for this decision was the spread in the region of the ideas of the so-called Arab spring. Among all the heads of sovereign states, the current emir of Qatar is the youngest.
Rise to power
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was far from the first among the potential heirs, being the second son of the second wife of the ruling monarch. Perhaps in order not to include his son in a premature power struggle, his father sent him to the UK, where he received an excellent education. First, he graduated from Sherborne Private School, and then to the Sandhurst Military Academy.
Returning to his homeland, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani began serving in the armed forces of Qatar as a military pilot.
However, already in 2003, he was officially declared the heir to the Qatari throne. This happened because his older brother unexpectedly for the public abandoned the throne in favor of his brother.
State of Qatar. Transformation program
As soon as Sheikh Al Thani realized that he would become the ruler of the state, he launched an active effort to change the image of Qatar in the international arena.
In the second year of his appointment as heir, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani founded the state-owned company Qatar Sports Investments, which was supposed to deal with the development of the sports industry.
With his most active participation, the XV Asian Games in Doha were held, in which he invested a lot of effort and money. Under his leadership, the organization of the World Swimming Championship was held and, probably, the 2022 World Cup will be held. It is estimated that $ 100 billion will be spent on preparing the country's infrastructure for such a significant event. However, critics claim that during the discussion of Qatar's bid for the championship, corruption was not without.
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani personally headed the National Olympic Committee and closely monitors everything that happens in the sports life of his country. He is the holder of the title "The best sports person in the Arab world."
In addition to sports, the sheikh is also interested in state finances and heads the Qatar Investment Authority as chairman of the board of directors. In addition, he leads numerous environmental organizations, the Higher Education Council and investment companies.
The beginning of the reign
On June 25, 2013, the Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, revealed to his family and immediate aides his intentions to resign. However, his youngest son became the official head of state only after a public announcement of this on television. Thus began the reign of the new monarch of the Persian Gulf.
According to many independent observers, among their competitors for the throne, Tamim was favorably distinguished by a good education, moderate religiosity and business acumen. His other brothers were too keen on entertainment or prayers.
At the same time, some observers believe that at first the position of the heir was not so strong: he was not supported by the military and the secret police, which had quite wide powers in Qatar. However, through the efforts of the prince, the state managed to avoid a coup and unrest.
Foundation of well-being
Despite the fact that Qatar on the world map occupies a barely noticeable peninsula in the Persian Gulf, its significance for the world economy is enormous. It is well known that the state owns one of the largest natural gas fields, the proven reserves of which are about 15% of the world.
Such significant reserves make Qatar one of the main suppliers of liquefied natural gas to the international market. This allows the Qatari ruler to pursue an independent foreign policy and pay minimal attention to criticism of his domestic policy.
Ambiguous domestic policy
Unlike his father, who devoted a disproportionate amount of time to international relations compared to the internal affairs of the country, Tamim bin Hamid Al Thani decided to focus on the internal life of Qatar.
In the first few years of independent rule, the emir built a network of new roads around the capital, laid the foundations for the development of the metro.
In addition, he undertook to optimize domestic public spending, reduced the number of overlapping ministries and programs. The funding of Qatar museums has also been reduced. However, the emir paid most attention to the food security of the state.
Fearing the spread of revolutionary ideas and worried about the stability of his dynasty, the ruler set about providing the population with affordable food. To do this, the food security program was reorganized, through which subsidies are made for companies that reduce food prices.
International criticism
International human rights organizations are sounding the alarm about systematic violations of the rights and freedoms of citizens. Qatar on the world map, which is seen by human rights defenders, does not take the most honorable place.
Along with other oil monarchies in the region, he became a party to the international agreement on criminal liability for insulting on the Internet any of the rulers of the region. Thus, Qatar entered the club of states punishing its citizens for a political position.
But infringement of the rights of their own citizens is far from the only skill that the young monarch perfectly knows. Statements are regularly heard from all sides that the state of Qatar is a sponsor of the Islamists. For example, according to the Times, his government funded Syrian rebels in excess of a billion dollars. Thus, the emir Tamim is considered one of those involved in the outbreak of a bloody civil war in Syria, the victims of which have already become hundreds of thousands of people, many millions are forced to wander in neighboring countries or cross the sea at risk to their life in order to enter Europe.
Speaking about Qatar, journalists and human rights activists never ignore the issue of the situation of labor migrants, who have absolutely no rights, but are constantly oppressed and discriminated against.
Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his wife
Tamim entered his first marriage long before receiving the monarchal inheritance, in 2005. His first wife was a cousin, from whom he has four children, the eldest of whom was born in 2006.
Two more daughters and two sons were born to the monarch from his second wife, the daughter of the Qatari ambassador to Jordan.
In 2014, the sheikh took his third wife, from whom he had another son.