Al Jazeera head replaced by Qatari royal


Wadah Khanfar has stepped down as general director of Al Jazeera.

Khanfar, who has run the international news and kids broadcaster for the last eight year, has been replaced by Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, an executive at Qatargas and a member of the Qatari royal family.

Al Jazeera, which is based in Doha and is owned by the country’s emir, launched in 1996 and operates channels including English-language satellite service Al Jazeera International and kids channel JCC as well as a documentary channel and a raft of sports channels.

“For sometime I have been discussing my desire to step down with the chairman of the board. He has kindly expressed understanding and has accepted my decision. Upon my appointment, the chairman and I set a goal to establish Al Jazeera as global media leader and we have agreed that this target has been met and that the organisation is in a healthy position,” Khanfar wrote in his resignation note.