DOHA, June 24: Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani is to transfer power in the small but economically powerful Gulf nation to his son Sheikh Tamim, the official QNA news agency reported on Monday.

“The royal palace announces that Qatar’s Amir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, will address the Qatari people at 8am (0500 GMT) on Tuesday,” said a statement carried by the news agency.

An official said the Amir would “announce the transfer of his powers to his son”.

The palace statement declared Tuesday an official holiday. Qatar-based satellite television channel Al Jazeera said the Amir met “the royal family and prominent members of Qatari society. He has informed the meeting of his decision to hand power over to his crown prince”.

Sheikh Hamad, who used Qatar’s immense gas wealth to drive its modernisation and transform it into a major player on the world’s diplomatic scene, came to power in a coup in which he overthrew his father Sheikh Khalifa in June 1995.

Al Jazeera reported earlier that the planned meeting with royals and prominent members of society “comes amid news about the intentions of the Amir to transfer power to his heir apparent, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani”.

A diplomat said that by stepping down of his free accord, the 61-year-old monarch would “score a first in the Arab world”, where autocratic rulers held power uncontested for decades until the Arab Spring revolutions that toppled governments in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya.—AFP