, Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, and Matt Lashey, 4th of July 2018 in Berlin Born in
Doha, he completed an undergraduate degree in
electrical engineering at
New Mexico State University in 1993 before going on to gain a
Master's Degree in
Sports Management from the
University of Lyon. He served in the
Qatar Armed Forces before becoming involved in national level sports administration positions. His first major organizational projects came as Director General of the committees for the
17th Arabian Gulf Cup and the
2005 West Asian Games, as well as being a committee member for the
2006 Asian Games. Sheikh Saoud played a major role in the winning of bids for Qatar's first international level sports competitions including the
2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m), the
2015 World Men's Handball Championship,
2016 UCI Road World Championships,
2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships and the
2019 World Championships in Athletics (being the bid leader for the latter). These projects formed part of the
Qatar National Vision 2030, a long-term government plan to develop the nation's economic and cultural wealth. He also promotes the participation of
Qatari women in sports, noting the increased investment in
women's sports in the country and participation of its female athletes at the
2011 Pan Arab Games and
2012 London Olympics. He is a sport’s enthusiast and is particularly interested in tennis, shooting sports, soccer and swimming. He Served as Secretary General of the
Qatar Olympic Committee from 2002 – 2015. In 2017, he was appointed Ambassador of the State of Qatar to the Federal Republic of Germany and Non-resident Ambassador to the Czech Republic (2017-2019). In 2020, he was appointed Chief of the Amiri Diwan on 27 October 2020 by the Amiri Order (5) of 2020. Since 12 November 2024, Al Thani has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs. sign a letter of agreement for a
Qatari Air Force facility in Idaho, 10 October 2025 On 10 October 2025 he and U.S.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that a formal letter of acceptance had been signed with State of Qatar to establish an
Qatar Emiri Air Force facility at Mountain Home AFB in
Mountain Home, Idaho; it shall host a contingent of
F-15s. ==Controversy==