QATAR'S LEADING LADY SHOWS CLOUT IN OUSTER OF TWO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DOHA 000315

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2019
TAGS: PGOV PHUM QA
SUBJECT: QATAR'S LEADING LADY SHOWS CLOUT IN OUSTER OF TWO
FEMALE MINISTERS

Classified By: Charge' d'affaires Michael A. Ratney for reasons 1.4 (b
and d).

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(C) KEY POINTS
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-- On April 28, Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
announced the ouster of Health Minister Shaykha Dr. Ghalia
bint Mohammad Al Thani and Education Minister Shaykha
Al-Mahmoud. They were replaced by two men thought to be
close allies of Crown Prince Tamim and, by extension, his
mother, Shaykha Mozah bint Nasser Al Misnad.

-- The two new ministers will serve concurrently as
Secretaries General of the Supreme Council for Health and the
Supreme Council for Education, which will be the true centers
of policymaking after the shakeup. Tamim will chair both
Councils, and Shaykha Mozah will serve as Vice-Chair.

-- The move was seen as a victory for Shaykha Mozah, second
wife of Amir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and mother of the
Crown Prince. Education and health have long been two of her
primary interests.


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(C) COMMENTS AND ANALYSIS
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-- Although both appointments carry the rank and title of
minister, their true authority derives from their role as
Secretaries General of Supreme Councils ultimately controlled
by Shaykha Mozah.

-- These developments are yet another round in the ongoing
rivalry between Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Hamad bin
Jassim Al Thani and the Amir's wife, Shaykha Mozah. The two
ousted ministers were thought to have moved too close to the
PM's camp in areas traditionally dominated by Shaykha Mozah.
By ousting the two Ministers, replacing them with loyalists
to her and Tamim, and moving the policymaking to the Supreme
Councils, she has re-asserted her dominance in these two
sectors. Observers feel that Mozah is better able to manage
them through Supreme Councils dominated by her and her
supporters than allowing Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim Al
Thani to manage them through his ministries.

-- The replacement of Shaykha Ghalia, a UK-trained
physician, by an experienced administrator, suggests that the
GOQ is concerned less with the overall medical quality of its
healthcare system than with its effective administration. In
recent weeks, callers to a popular call-in show on Qatar
radio have complained increasingly about healthcare in the
country, and the shakeup may be seen as an attempt to get
ahead of rising public discontent before the blame is placed
on the Crown Prince and Shaykha Mozah.

-- According to analysts at the RAND-Qatar Policy
Institute, by asserting her authority over education policy,
Shaykha Mozah has scored a victory for her comprehensive K-12
education reform, under which government schools will slowly
be replaced by or converted to high-quality independent
schools not unlike charter schools in the United States.

End Key Points and Comments and Analysis.


1. (C) On April 28, Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani
announced the ouster of the Minister of Education, Shaykha
Al-Mahmoud, and the Minister of Health, Dr. Shaykha Ghalia
bint Mohammad Al Thani. The new Minister of Education is
U.S.-educated Saad bin Ibrahim Al Mahmoud, Director of
Administration for the Amiri Diwan. Abdulla bin Khalid Al
Qahtani, who received a Master of Science in Accounting from
the American University in Washington, DC and who headed the
Organizing Committee of the Asian Games in Doha in 2007, will
serve as Minister of Health. Both men are viewed as
loyalists to Crown Prince Tamim, and by extension, to Shaykha
Mozah. The two will also serve as Secretaries General of the
Supreme Council for Health and the Supreme Council for
Education, through which they will report to Shaykha Mozah.


2. (SBU) Crown Prince Tamim also announced the new members of
the Supreme Council for Health. He will Chair the Council,
and Shaykha Mozah will serve as Vice-Chair. Dr. Ghalia will
retain some influence over health policy, having been named
as a member of the Supreme Council for Health. The Supreme
Council for Health will have regulatory power over
pharmacies, public and private hospitals, medical research
institutions, physicians, and nursing homes.


3. (C) The Crown Prince also named the new members of the

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Supreme Council for Education. He and Shaykha Mozah will also
head this Council. Members include Dr. Mazin bin Jassim Al
Jaidah, who recently became the first Qatari to earn his
Ph.D. at Harvard University, and Dr. Shaykha bint Abdulla Al
Misnad, aunt of Shaykha Mozah and President of Qatar
University.
Ratney