The previous head of the Embassy of Qatar in Berlin, Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohammed bin Saud Al-Thani, had already left Germany many weeks ago. He has taken office as the new ambassador of the Gulf State in London.

His successor is expected in Berlin in the next few days. It is Abdulla bin Ibrahim Abdulrahman Sultan Al Hamar, previously Qatari ambassador in Madrid. In Berlin, he must first send his letter of certification to the Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier hand over before he can officially take action as head of mission.

Al Hamar is 64 years old. He studied civil engineering in the USA (University of Arizona). He first worked in Doha at the Ministry of City Administration and Agriculture before moving to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as head of the information department. His previous ambassadorships were to Syria (2001-2003), Thailand (2004-2010), Vietnam (2014-2015) and Singapore (2016-2019).

Permanent theme Gaza Strip

In 2019, he was appointed head of the Qatari embassy in Madrid. The pandemic caused by Covid, the organisation of the World Cup hosted by Qatar and the state visit of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Spain in 2022 kept him busy. During this post, investments worth 4.7 billion euros were agreed. His duties in Madrid also included managing Qatar's multi-billion dollar investments in Spain. Qatar is one of the biggest foreign investors in the country. Qatar is also a major investor in Germany.

In the last months of his post in Spain, Al Hamar, like most other Qatari diplomats, was busy with the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Here, Qatar made intensive efforts as a mediator between Israel and Hamas. This topic will also concern him in Berlin.

Simultaneously with the appointment of Al Hamar as ambassador to Germany, Sheikh Al Thani sent new ambassadors, namely to Iran, Azerbaijan and Cyprus.

Ewald König

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