Qatar: Emir Tamim appoints deputy

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani issued an emiri order on 28 April stipulating that Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Thani should assume the emir’s duties during periods of his absence abroad. Tamim has not appointed an heir apparent since becoming emir in June; his children are still quite young – the eldest, Hamad Bin Tamim, was born in 2008 – and the assumption has been that he would appoint a caretaker until they come of age. Sheikh Abdullah is president of the emiri diwan, a position to which he was appointed in late 2011, with rank of minister.