Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani was sworn in as new prime minister on Tuesday in a cabinet reshuffle that retained the energy minister of the US-allied Gulf Arab gas exporter.
The state news agency QNA said Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, named the new members of the Qatari cabinet in a decree after accepting the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani. The new government, in which Sheikh Hamad will also remain foreign minister, was sworn in on Tuesday, it said.
Qatar's Energy Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah retains his post in the Opec oil-exporter that is also home to the world's third largest gas reserves. He also stays on as a deputy prime minister. Other important portfolios, including finance and the interior, remained the same.
A Foreign Ministry official said the cabinet was reshuffled because there had been no change to the government for some time. He declined to comment on its policies but analysts said they hoped it would introduce more democracy and development.
Qatar is a political maverick in the largely conservative Gulf region. Qatar's emir seized power from his father in a coup in the mid-1990s. He has since changed the constitution and introduced municipal elections. Qatar held municipal elections for the third time on April 1 and the emir has promised partial parliamentary elections this year.
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