Qatari royal Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani sets up Malta aviation broker

CLARIFICATION, 14 October 2016  - It was erroneously reported that Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani was a government minister, but he no longer serves as minister of economy

A Qatari royal family member and his wife have set up a Maltese company that will specialise in aviation, MaltaToday can confirm.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani was the former minister of economy and trade in the Qatari government, and is a businessman and a part of the large Al Thani royal family.

His company, Monifa Wings Company Limited, is an aircraft broker that will provide air transport services, lease aircraft and operator charter flights.

Al Thani is perhaps better known as the former director-general of Al Jazeera, which he took over in September 2011. He left in 2013 upon becoming minister of the economy.

He is a graduate of Imperial College and the Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business, and has worked in different petroleum engineering projects in Qatar and abroad.

He was a board member at Qatargas. On 3 July, he was made member to the administrative council of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).

Arabian Business named Al Thani as the most powerful Qatari businessman in 2012. He was chosen as the 38th most powerful Arab by Gulf Business in 2013.

His wife Hanadi bint Nasser Al Thani, in her own right a powerful businesswoman, is the CEO and founder of Al Waab City Real Estate, vice chairman of Nasser Bin Khaled Al-Thani & Sons Group, and founding chairperson of Q-Auto.

She started her career as an assistant lecturer in economics at Qatar University. In 1998 she founded the Qatar Ladies Investment Company (known as Amwal), the first investment company to receive a licence from Qatar Central Bank to conduct investment banking, asset and wealth management in Qatar.

In 2005 she founded Al Waab City, an urban community development of over 1.2 million square metres of mixed use areas.

Sheikha Hanadi has been on the Arabian Business list of most influential Arabs for several consecutive years.