Qatar: HBJ is back in town

Qatar observers noted with interest the presence of the powerful former premier and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani (HBJ) at the opening session of the Advisory Council in Doha in early November (see Royals watch). A few days later, HBJ appeared in public again at celebrations for the Qatar Chamber’s golden jubilee, an event at which he sat at Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani’s left hand. (New Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser was on the emir’s right). There was some speculation in Doha over the summer as to HBJ’s whereabouts – he was in London, mostly – following Tamim’s accession, and the end of HBJ’s long government career.