Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber bin Mohammed Al Thani is a former politician in
Qatar. He was the Prime Minister of Qatar from 3 April 2007 to 26 June 2013,
and foreign minister from 11 January 1992 to 26 June 2013.
Early life Hamad was born in Doha, Qatar, on 30
August 1959. He is the fifth son of Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani. Through his
father, he is the grandson of Jabr bin Muhammed Al Thani. Jabr was a younger
brother of Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, the founding father of the modern Qatar
and first Hakim of the state. Career
Between 1982 and 1989, Hamad was the director of the office of the minister
of municipal affairs and agriculture. In July 1989, he was appointed minister of
municipal affairs and agriculture and in May 1990, he was appointed deputy
minister of electricity and water along with his post as minister of municipal
affairs and agriculture, where he supervised several successful projects
and developed the agriculture sector. On 1 September 1992, Hamad was appointed
as foreign minister of Qatar by the 8th Emir. He was retained in his post when
the emir, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani came to power in a coup in 1995. Hamad
played an important role in the overthrow of the 8th Emir. On 16
September 2003, Hamad was appointed first deputy prime minister while
retaining his position of minister of foreign affairs. On 2 April 2007, he was
appointed as prime minister, following the resignation of Abdullah bin Khalifa
Al Thani; Hamad also continued to serve as foreign minister.
Hamad was reported to have had strong connections with the US government. He
serves on the International Advisory Council of the Brookings Institution and
chairs the International Advisory Council of the Brookings Doha Center. He
has stakes in many strong businesses such as Qatar Airways and the Foreign
Investment Company, Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, The Pearl and
Harrods. He is a partner in Project Grande, the developer of One Hyde Park
in London, United Kingdom. Additionally, Hamad held several other
key positions including member of the supreme defense council, which was
established in 1996; head of Qatar’s permanent committee for the support of
al Quds, which was formed in 1998; member of the permanent constitution
committee, formed in 1999; member of the ruling family council, which was
established in 2000; and member of the supreme council for the investment of
the reserves of the state, which was established in 2000.
Hamad was the first Arab politician received by Nicholas Sarkozy after the
latter's election to the French presidency in May 2007. The French
government made of Qatar under Hamad's guidance a strategic partner, and the
list of partnerships between the two states includes Total, EADS, Technip,
Air Liquide, Vinci SA, GDF Suez, and Areva. France was, under the Hamad
government, the primary arms supplier to the Emirate. In February 2009, under the
Sarkozy government, France accorded special beyond-OCDE investment
privileges to Qatar, its ruling family and its State-Owned Enterprises; one
example of the privileges is capital gains exemptions in France.
The US embassy to Doha claimed, in a cable disclosed in December 2010 by
WikiLeaks, that "Sheikh Hamad told then US senator John Kerry that he had
proposed a bargain with the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, which involved
stopping broadcasts in Egypt in exchange for a change in Cairo's position on
Israel-Palestinian negotiations, and that 'we would stop al-Jazeera for a
year' if Mubarak agreed in that span of time to deliver a lasting settlement for
the Palestinians." On 25 June 2013, Hamad bin Khalifa Al
Thani abdicated as Emir of Qatar, and on the next day, 26 June, Hamad resigned
from office. He was replaced by Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani as prime
minister and by Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah as foreign minister. On 3 July,
Hamad was also relieved from the post of deputy head of the Qatar Investment
Authority. = Mediation efforts=
Hamad has worked actively to settle political conflicts in both Africa and
the Middle East over the last 20 years. In 2010, he led the mediation efforts
that resulted in the signing of a peace agreement between Djibouti and Eritrea
to settle their border dispute and thereby paving the way for broader peace
talks to end the six-year conflict in the region. According to the negotiated
peace declaration, the two parties pledged to give peaceful means a
“strategic priority to settle the conflict in Darfur”, and to take the
required measures to create “an opportune environment to achieve a
lasting settlement”, including the halting of “inconvenience to the
displaced and ensuring the flow of relief aid”. The parties furthermore
committed themselves to prisoners swap and the release of those who were
detained due to the dispute. In 2009, he assisted in the settlement
agreement between Sudan and Chad. The civil war in Chad began in December
2005. On February 8, 2006 the Tripoli Agreement was signed, which temporarily
stopped the fighting. However, hostilities resumed after two months,
leading to several new agreement attempts and a final settlement between
the two parties in 2009. In 2009, Hamad participated in brokering
a peace agreement to end the conflict in Darfur between the government of Sudan
and Justice and Equality Movement. The pact also opened up to the rest of
factions in Darfur. He participated in mediation of
ceasefire in Yemen between the Government of Yemen and the Houthi
Movement in 2007. In 2010, the two parties agreed to activate the agreement
after confrontations threatening the ceasefire. The mediation ended a
six-year war between the two sides. In 2007, Hamad helped organize the
Lebanese national dialogue and the peace agreement between various Lebanese
political groups to end the worst internal fighting in Lebanon since the
civil war of 1975-1990. In an attempt to resolve a broader political showdown
that had paralyzed the country for 18 months, Hamad summoned the Lebanese
government and Hezbollah-led opposition to Qatar for talks. He declared an
agreement sponsored by the Arab League to deal with the Lebanese crisis. In the
agreement the parties pledged, “to refrain from returning to the use of
weapons or violence to realize political gains." The Lebanese government
furthermore committed itself to introduce a new electoral law designed
to provide better representation in the country's sectarian system of power
sharing. Hamad was instrumental in creating the
peace settlement between Sudan and Eritrea in 1998. The un-demarcated
border with Sudan had posed a problem for Eritrean external relations for most
of the nation's existence. He negotiated a peace settlement between Sudan and
Eritrea. After the agreement was signed, relations somewhat normalized.
In 1996, he worked to settle a brief war between Eritrea and Yemen over the
Hanish Islands. As part of the agreement to cease hostilities the two nations
agreed, through the negotiating effort of Hamad, to refer the issue to the
Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague in 1998. Yemen was granted full
ownership of the larger islands while Eritrea was awarded the peripheral
islands to the southwest of the larger islands. Since then relations between
the two governments have remained relatively normal.
Hamad facilitated the agreement that led to a unity constitution in Yemen in May
1990, ratified by the populace in May 1991. It affirmed Yemen's commitment to
free elections, a multiparty political system, the right to own private
property, equality under the law, and respect of basic human rights.
Parliamentary elections were held on 27 April 1993.
Hamad also has been involved in ongoing efforts between Fatah and Hamas to
achieve Palestinian reconciliation to activate the peace process with Israel.
Of other humanitarian initiatives, he has facilitated the release of
prisoners, including the five Lebanese prisoners in Eritrea. He supported the
effort to release Mr. Nawaz Sharif, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan from
jail, and was instrumental in freeing the Bulgarian nurses in Libya from
prison. He has opened Qatar to political refugees in the Muslim and Arab worlds.
During the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s, he secured large quantities of
food, medicine and other items to the Bosnian population.
In November 2010 he launched the Humanitarian Appeal 2011 in Doha,
together with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The
initiative is set to help improve the living conditions for millions of people
affected by humanitarian crises around the world.
BAE Systems controversy Following courting by Michael Portillo
Qatar entered into an arms deal worth £500 million with BAE Systems. £7
million was transferred into two trusts in Jersey of which Hamad was named as a
beneficiary. In an attempt to prevent Money Laundering the funds were frozen
from 16 July 2000 by the Jersey Financial Services Commission, who then
began a court case and investigation. Hamad paid the Jersey authorities £6
million as a "voluntary reparation" as "the structures put in place by his
advisers may have contributed to the cost and complexity of the inquiry.",
the case was then dropped by the Jersey authorities.
Titles, styles and honours = Titles and styles=
Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani
His Excellency Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani
His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar
= Honours= Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters
from the Lebanese American University Personal life
From 1982 to 1996 Hamad was married to Jawaher bint Fahad Al Thani. Then he
married Noor Al Subaie, the daughter of the former minister of education, in
1996. He has 15 children. References
External links