Qatar’s Ruler Said to Plan Transfer of Power
Source: NY TIMES
DOHA, Qatar — Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the absolute ruler and emir of Qatar, who used his tiny nation’s oil and gas wealth to alter the course of events across the Middle East, siding with rebels in Syria and Libya, negotiating peace in Lebanon, hosting a United States military base and backing the militant group Hamas, told his family he would abdicate and transfer power to his 33-year-old son, the Qatar-owned Al Jazeera news organization has reported.
At the age of only 61, the emir surprised the outside world, if not his subjects, with the announcement that he would cede power to his son, Sheik Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, and also move aside his longtime foreign and prime minister, Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, 53.
His decision comes as Qatar’s hand — more precisely its checkbook — can be felt throughout the Middle East, raising questions about whether the son would continue Qatar’s high-profile interventionist policy. In recent days, Qatar has let the Taliban open an office in Doha and has helped keep the Syrian rebels armed. And while it is allied with Washington, it has also has raised the West’s ire by financing radical Islamist rebels in various arenas.
Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/25/world/middleeast/qatar-transfer-of-power.html?hp&_r=0
I don't know why someone would give up royal power.
In the words of Mel Brooks "It's good to be the king"
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Qatar is so supportive of democratic ideals and rule. That's why they support democratic revolutionaries like the MB in Egypt, and Islamist rebels in Syria.
