The disappearance of Hamad Bin Jassim


When former emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani decided to hand power to his son Sheikh Tamim, he insisted that Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani (HBJ) – his prime minister, foreign minister, and accomplice in the 1995 coup that so irrevocably changed the fortunes of the tiny Gulf state of Qatar – must also step down. HBJ was widely expected to retreat, given the years of speculation about tensions between him and Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani; there was a sense that the new, 33-year-old emir would not be able to rule with such an experienced and powerful prime minister on his shoulder, potentially with leadership ambitions of his own. But after more than 20 years as foreign minister and six as prime minister, and as the chief executive of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), he was not expected to vanish altogether.