Qatar's prime minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa Al Thani resigned Tuesday and the country's emir has appointed the foreign minister as replacement, the government's Qatar News Agency reported on its Web site.
The new prime minister is Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al Thani, the news agency said.
Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani was sworn in as new prime minister on Tuesday in a cabinet reshuffle that retained the energy minister of the US-allied Gulf Arab gas exporter.
The new government, in which Sheikh Hamad will also remain foreign minister, was sworn in on Tuesday, it added.
Qatar’s Energy Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah retains his post in the OPEC oil-exporter that is also home to the world’s third largest gas reserves. He also stays on as a deputy prime minister.
Other important portfolios, including finance and the interior, remained the same.
A Foreign Ministry official has told the AP the cabinet was reshuffled because there had been no change to the government for some time.
Qatar held municipal elections for the third time earlier this week and the emir has promised partial parliamentary elections this year. “Qatar wants to introduce more dynamism into politics rather than appoint prime ministers or officials for life, as is usually the case in the Gulf,” said former Justice Minister Najib Mohammed Al-Naimi.
“The foreign minister was a natural choice because he has been first deputy prime minister for some time and he comes from inside the political fold.”
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
