Al Jazeera Names New Director General

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}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: “Times New Roman”; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Sheikh Ahmad bin Jasem bin Muhammad Al Thani has stepped in as director general of Al Jazeera following Wadah Khanfar‘s resignation.

Khanfar has run this Middle Eastern news network for eight years. The official word from the network is that he is stepping down after having accomplished the vision that he had set for Al Jazeera to be a globally recognized media institution. He said in a statement, "Upon my appointment I set a goal to establish Al Jazeera as global media leader. This target has been met and the organization is in a healthy position. This network is great not because of me or any other individual, it is great because of its mission which carries on with all of its outstanding staff. My successor has the skills and attributes to maintain and build upon the quality journalism that Al Jazeera has become renowned for.”

Published reports indicate that Khanfar’s resignation could be tied to the recent release of documents by WikiLeaks that claimed Khanfar had close ties to U.S. authorities. Al Jazeera maintains that Khanfar offered his resignation in July and that his successor was officially named a month ago, to ensure a "smooth transition."

The channel’s new chief is a member of Qatar’s ruling royal family. He took on the post today.

An unnamed Al Jazeera spokesperson said, "Wadah Khanfar had made outstanding contributions to Al Jazeera and journalism worldwide. We all recognize his commitment to courageous reporting and want to continue to build upon those achievements. Al Jazeera has expanded massively in the last few years and there are ambitious plans still ahead. All of the staff at Al Jazeera will continue to provide high quality journalism to our audiences across the world.”