Doha: The Emir of Qatar, Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, is expected to meet members of the ruling family on Monday, with Qatari officials and diplomats saying a transfer of power to his son, Crown Prince Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, is imminent.
The emir “will meet on Monday with the royal family and advisers,” the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television news channel reported on Sunday, stressing that the meeting would take place in the context of a possible succession.
Diplomats and Qatari officials agree that the emir is preparing to hand over control of the oil-rich country, which plays a key role in the Arab world.
The 61-year-old emir came to power in 1995 in a palace coup against his father. He has since helped build Qatar into a strong voice in the Gulf and on the world stage.
Shaikh Tamim, born in 1980, is the second son of the emir and his second wife Shaikha Mouza.
The crown prince is joint commander of the armed forces and head of the country’s Olympic committee.
“The emir is convinced that he should encourage the new generation. He plans to transfer power to the crown prince, Shaikh Tamim, and to carry out a ministerial reshuffle to bring a large number of young people into the cabinet,” a Qatari official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Powerful Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani could lose his job, or at least the foreign affairs portfolio which he also holds, sources said.
Qatar took part in the armed intervention in Libya and is actively supporting the rebel forces in Syria.
“The emir could take a step back, that is to say not retire completely but play a more honorary role, so that his son can better assume the responsibilities and become the man in charge,” a French diplomat said.
