Doha: Al Jazeera television said on Wednesday that Qatar’s prime minister, a driving force behind the country’s rise to global prominence, would be replaced in a cabinet reshuffle following the accession of a new emir in the Gulf state.
The Qatar-based satellite channel said current minister of state for interior affairs, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al Thani, had been chosen to be the next prime minister, succeeding the powerful Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani, who is also the foreign minister.
Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani was named emir following the abdication of his father on Tuesday in a transition rare in Gulf Arab countries, where heads of state normally rule for life.
Qatar is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and key financier of Arab Spring uprisings.
Diplomats said earlier this month that Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem was expected to step down as part of the transition.
There was no reference to him during Tuesday’s ceremonies and he was not seen in television coverage of the thousands who came to pledge allegiance to the new ruler. Shaikh Tamim is due to deliver his first address to Qatari citizens on Wednesday evening at 1500 GMT.