Qatar’s former ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has died at age 74, state news agency says
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who as ruler of Qatar transformed the tiny Persian Gulf nation into a global player in diplomacy, media and
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who as ruler of Qatar transformed the tiny Persian Gulf nation into a global player in diplomacy, media and investment, and then shattered tradition by voluntarily turning over power to his son, has died, state media reported. He was 74. The state-run Qatar News Agency reported his death. It offered no cause. Sheikh Hamad, who stepped down in June 2013 after 18 years as emir, was the architect of energy-rich Qatar’s stunning ambitions that turned it from a backwater into an international crossroads in less than a generation. Qatar owns the Harrod’s department store in London and founded the powerful Al Jazeera satellite news network. Qatar’s political reach today stretches from North Africa to Afghanistan, and it hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the world’s most-watched soccer event. Sheikh Hamad, though long out of power, received thunderous applause from Qataris attending its opening match. But Qatar’s rise under Sheikh Hamad also rankled regional and Western allies with its independent-minded policymaking, including its close ties to Shiite powerhouse Iran, the Palestinian militant Hamas group and Egypt’s outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. Al Jazeera’s blunt reporting, though a much-praised departure from the traditionally deferential habits of Arab media, was also criticised and accused of slanting coverage to suit the views of Qatar’s rulers. “The future lies ahead of you, the children of this homeland, as you usher into a new era where young leadership hoists the banner,” Sheikh Hamad said as he announced his abdication and the carefully crafted transition to his son, the British-educated crown prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who was then 33.
The peaceful, voluntary transfer of power was rare in a region where such change usually results from death or overthrow. Sheikh Hamad himself seized control after deposing his father, Sheikh Khalifa, in a bloodless palace coup in 1995. His abdication was seen as Qatar’s attempt to stay ahead of Arab Spring-inspired calls for reforms and leadership more attuned to the region’s large and powerful young population. Qatar, a peninsula half the size of New Jersey, is believed to have around 300,000 citizens. At the time, Sheikh Hamad was also thought to have been in poor health for years. In December 2015, Qatari officials said he was flown to Switzerland for surgery after breaking a leg while on holiday. Transforming Qatar’s outlook and roadmap Sheikh Hamad attended Britain’s military academy, Sandhurst, and became commander of Qatar’s armed forces and defense minister. He was named crown prince in the late 1970s and gradually broadened his duties to include planning for Qatar’s vast oil and gas reserves. After seizing power from his father, who then lived in exile for nearly a decade, Sheikh Hamad quickly moved to open an inward-looking nation to outside influences, epitomized by Al Jazeera, which became a major force in global media. Its reporting not only angered other Arab leaders, sometimes to the point of diplomatic rupture, it also riled Washington. Al Jazeera aired statements from the terror network al-Qaida, even as Qatar hosted one of the key Pentagon logistical hubs following the September 11, 2001, attacks and the U.S.-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The BriefWire