Former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani ("HBJ") was replaced as the head of the emirate’s sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, on 2 July 2013.

Emir Hamad and his Prime Minister were forced, through a White House mandatory order, to make room for Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned and his second son, Tamim. While the crisis between Emir Hamad and his wife made the headlines across the Gulf two years ago, the precise reasons for Washington’s decision are unknown. Two hypotheses are frequently advanced: either the Emir and the Prime Minister have been penalized for their fiasco in Syria, or they would have compromised the financial interests of the United States through the Qatar Investment Authority.

The former Prime Minister, now also excluded from the direction of the Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund, was Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1992 and was the instigator of the coup that allowed Emir Hamad to seize his father’s throne, Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, in 1995.

"Full of wisdom" (sic), Emir Hamad, the "visionary" (sic), has been replaced by Emir Tamim on 25 June 2013. This is the first time that a Gulf emir relinquishes "voluntarily" (re-sic) his throne. It only took Sheikha Mozah one week to get rid of the former Prime Minister.