Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Biography

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was born on June 3, 1980, in Doha, Qatar, as the fourth son of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani from his second wife Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned. A member of the House of Al Thani, his father was Heir Apparent of Qatar at the time of his birth and was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 until 2013.

He was educated in the UK and took his A-Levels in 1997 from Sherborne School (International College) in Dorset. Like his father, he also attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, from where he graduated in 1998.

After completing his graduation from Sandhurst, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Qatar Armed Forces. He was named the heir apparent on August 5, 2003 after his older brother Jassim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani renounced his claim to the throne.

He was also appointed deputy commander-in-chief of Qatar's armed forces on August 5, 2003. Since being named the heir apparent, he has been groomed for his future role as Emir by serving in top security and economics posts.

He was in the forefront of Qatar's ambitious plans to use sports to raise its international profile, and in 2005, oversaw founding Oryx Qatar Sports Investments, which acquired Paris Saint-Germain and its affiliates in 2011.

He was the chairman of the organizing committee of the 15th Asian Games in Doha in 2006, attended by all member countries for the first time in its history. That year, the readers of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram voted him "the best sport personality in the Arab world".

He served as the President of the Qatar Olympic Committee since 2000 and was elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in February 2002 during its 113th session. He has been Chairman of the Qatar Olympic Committee since 2015 and headed Doha's bid for the 2020 Olympic Games, which was ultimately unsuccessful, but Doha has vowed to bid again for the 2024 Olympics.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani succeeded his father as the Emir of Qatar after the latter decided to step down and handed over power in a televised speech on June 25, 2013. The transition of power went smoothly and he became the first ruler, in a succession of three Qatari rulers from the Al Thani family, to ascend to power without resorting to a coup.

As Amir of the State of Qatar, he became the Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, holding all executive and legislative authority in an authoritarian regime. Apart from lack of political and civil rights, there was also no freedom of the press, and while the country attempted to promote media freedom initially, Tamim's regime started blocking critical reporting in 2016.

Shortly after his accession to power, Tamim focused on reforming the Qatari administration to increase efficiency and shifted towards meritocracy by appointing Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, a non-royal, as his foreign minister. He streamlined bureaucracy by disassembling parallel institutions, like incorporating the Qatar National Food Security Program into the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture, and decreased fiscal budget of institutions like Qatar Foundation and Qatar Museums Authority.

He helped pass two laws in 2017 protecting workers' rights, which included clauses on maximum working hours and rights to annual leave, and later abolished exit visas for most of the country's migrant workers. He signed a law in 2021 to conduct the first legislative (Shura Council) election in Qatar and fifth in the Gulf Cooperation Council for two-thirds seats of the Shura Council.

Tamim was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father and increase Qatar's role in vital international affairs, which he did by taking a regional tour of the Gulf even before assuming power. However, Qatar's support for Islamist causes and for organizations that oppose the absolute rule of the Gulf's hereditary rulers provoked tensions with the GCC countries, causing Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and UAE to withdraw their ambassadors.

The diplomatic crisis that was caused by Qatar allegedly backing Islamists during Arab Spring revolts in 2011, culminated in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain imposing an economic blockade on Qatar in 2017. While Qatar was able to reorient its trade toward Turkey, Iran, Kuwait, and Oman, among other countries, the blockade was finally lifted after 43 months in January 2021.

Under his guidance, Qatar won the rights to host the 2014 FINA Swimming World Championships and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and has been confirmed as host of the 2030 Asian Games. To prepare for the football world cup, Qatar reportedly spent about $200 billion on infrastructure, including 12 stadiums, a new port, transportation systems and accommoda­tion for an estimated 400,000 fans.

He also serves as the chairman of the board of Qatar Investment Authority, the emirate's sovereign wealth fund, which has invested billions of dollars in some of Britain's best-known landmarks and businesses. The fund owns large stakes in Barclays Bank, Sainsbury's, and Harrods, and owns a share of Europe's fourth tallest building, the Shard.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani married his first wife, his second cousin Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad Al Thani, on January 8, 2005, and has two sons and two daughters with her. On March 3, 2009, he married a second wife, Sheikha Al-Anoud bint Mana Al Hajri, the daughter of former Qatari Ambassador to Jordan Mana bin Abdul Hadi Al Hajri, and has five children with her.

He got married to his third wife, Sheikha Noora bint Hathal Al Dosari, on February 25, 2014, and has three sons and one daughter from her. Fluent in Arabic, English and French, he has a strong interest in history and his nation's heritage.

Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was one of the victims of hacking by a team of former US government intelligence operatives that targeted activists, diplomats and foreign leaders for the United Arab Emirates. According to a January 2019 Reuters investigation, since 2016, the spying tool, codenamed ‘K4RM4’, enabled UAE to monitor hundreds of individuals identified as potential critics of, or threats to, the Emirati government and its ideology.