DUBAI - Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani has appointed Ali Bin Ahmad Al-Kuwari as finance minister in a government reshuffle, according to a statement issued by the emiri court on Tuesday, following the previous minister's arrest in May.

Al-Kuwari had been serving as commerce and industry minister and as acting finance minister before the reshuffle.

His predecessor in the finance ministry, Ali Sherif al-Emadi, was arrested over embezzlement allegations and stripped of his duties in May. Reuters has previously been unable to contact him while he is in police custody.

(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Alison Williams, Editing by Timothy Heritage) ((maher.chmaytelli@thomsonreuters.com;))