Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani

Age: 60
Occupation: Qatari Emir

His little Gulf country has punched way above its geopolitical weight in the past year. Al-Thani helped broker a landmark peace deal between the warring Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas. He secretly deployed Qatari commandos in Libya during the war against Muammar Gaddafi. And Qatar led the Arab League in its U.N. efforts to put pressure on Syria. Al-Thani may be cut from the same cloth as the other oil-rich potentates in the Gulf, but he has an altogether different style and agenda.

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