1950 -
Amir of Qatar, 1995 - .
Shaykh Hamad ibn Khalifa Al Thani became the amir of Qatar on 27 June 1995 when he ousted his father in a bloodless palace coup. The eldest son of his predecessor, Shaykh Khalifa, Hamad was born in Doha in 1950. He was graduated from the Royal Military College in Sandhurst, England, in 1971, and in 1977 he was named heir apparent and defense minister by his father. In 1992 he took control of the day-to-day governing of Qatar when his father allowed him to appoint a cabinet of his own choice. In his first cabinet, appointed in July 1995, he retained for himself the positions of defense minister and commander of the Qatari armed forces and, in addition, appointed himself prime minister, a position previously held by his father.
— F. GREGORY GAUSE III
