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The appointment comes after the previous Prime Minister announced he was stepping down from the position.
Qatar's leader appointed a new Prime Minister on Tuesday, as he chose a close associate to help maintain his policies throughout the Gulf nation.
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According to Qatari state news, Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani appointed Sheikh Khaled bin Khalifa Al-Thani as the new Prime Minister after the previous premier, Sheikh Abdullah Nasser Al-Thani, who is also the country's Interior Minister, announced his resignation.
Qatari state news said Emir Tamim accepted Sheikh Abdullah's resignation and approved the new premier on Tueday.
Sheikh Khaled, who is believed to be 51 years old, will also replace Sheikh Abdullah as the head of the Interior Minsitry. The reason for Sheikh Abdullah's resignation was not stated.
Despite the recent cabinet changes, several important positions such as foreign, energy, finance, defense and trade ministries remained unchanged. According to Reuters, some analysts said the change was not unexpected.
“This is a new generation taking the reins,” said Majed al-Ansari, an analyst and professor of political sociology at Qatar University, referring to the relative youth of some of the officials working with Sheikh Tamim, who is in his late 30s. Ansari added that the move does not seem to signal any major shift in Qatar’s direction.
“The new prime minister is very close to his highness the emir, part of his inner circle,” Ansari said. Sheikh Abdullah, thought to be around 60 years old, on Twitter thanked the emir for his guidance during his time as prime minister.
The emir also appointed a new commander of the internal security forces, Abdulaziz bin Faisal bin Muhammad Al Thani, state news agency QNA said.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade links with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of backing terrorism. Doha denies the charge and accuses its neighbors of seeking to curtail its sovereignty.
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