IOR/R/15/2/609

This file concerns the appointment of an heir to Shaikh ‘Abdullāh bin Jāsim Āl Thanī, Ruler of Qatar, following the illness and death of his son and heir-apparent, Shaikh Ḥamad bin ‘Abdullāh Āl Thānī. Details include: Ḥamad's illness and his role in the settlement of the conflict over Zubarah (al-Zubārah) between Bahrain and Qatar in 1944; illnesses of both Shaikh ‘Abdullāh and Shaikh Ḥamad in June 1946; reports on the health of Shaikh ‘Abdullāh by Dr G F N Anderson, Medical Officer at Dukhan [Dukhān] for Petroleum Development (Qatar) Limited during 1947 (folios 8-13); and the serious illness of Shaikh Ḥamad in May 1948 and his death on 27 May 1948.

After the announcement of Shaikh Ḥamad's death, there follows correspondence concerning the appointment of a successor, including: Shaikh ‘Abdullāh's announcement of his son, Shaikh ‘Alī bin ‘Abdullāh, as his successor (ff 27-30); information regarding the succession of Shaikh ‘Alī in the event of his death (ff 33 and 38); Shaikh ‘Abdullāh's request for His Majesty's Government to recognise Shaikh ‘Alī as his successor (ff 39 and 42-45); and attempts by Shaikh ‘Abdullāh to recover money from Shaikh Ḥamad's account with the Eastern Bank Limited, Bahrain, in 1949 (ff 40-41). Included within the file is a 'Genealogical Tree of the Ruling Family of Qatar' (ff 23-24).

Correspondents within this file include: the Political Resident at Bushire and later at Bahrain; the Political Agent at Bahrain; Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe, External Affairs Department of the Government of India, New Delhi; Ernest Vincent Packer and Basil Henry le Riolet Lermitte, Petroleum Concessions Limited, Bahrain.