The family tree of Qatar’s new emir, the fourth-oldest son, who has 23 brothers and sisters. Around the 17th century, the tribe lived in Ushayqir, a settlement north-east of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The first Al Thani to rule Qatar was Sheikh Mohammed bin Thani in 1850. Qatar’s ruler Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani officially transferred power yesterday to his 33-year-old son, Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani—his second son by his second wife, and one of the emir’s 24 children. A number of powerful individuals including the Al Thani family, Qatar’s royal family, are behind Qatar’s great success and world status today. The ruling monarch is called the Emir. The family tree of Qatar. Qatar is a hereditary monarchy and has been ruled by the royal family of Al Thani since the early 19th century. Welcome! Al Thani is the ruling family of Qatar since 1825 and The Al Thanis are part of the Ma'adid sect of the Banu Tamim tribe. Qatar’s ruler Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani officially transferred power to his son, Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani—his second son by his second wife, and one of the emir’s 24 children. They settled in Qatar around the 1740s The family tree of Qatar’s new emir, the fourth-oldest son, who has 23 brothers and sisters. The House of Al Thani: Qatar’s Royal Family The ruling family of Qatar, Al Thani, has been ruling the Arab peninsula since before its independence from the British in 1971. The Al-Thanis are by far the most powerful family/tribe in Qatar. The CIA World Factbook classifies Qatar as an “absolute monarchy” although The State Department has called it a “constitutional monarchy”.