Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former emir of Qatar who turned a small Gulf peninsula into the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and a diplomatic broker punching far above its weight, died Sunday. He was 74.
The Amiri Diwan, Qatar's royal court, announced the death without giving a cause. The government declared a four-day period of public mourning starting Monday, ordered flags lowered to half-mast and suspended work at government agencies and public bodies.
Sheikh Hamad ruled from 1995 until 2013, when he became one of the first modern Arab leaders to voluntarily abdicate, handing power to his son and heir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, then 33. Under his reign, Qatar's economy grew more than 24-fold, the emirate launched the Al Jazeera news network in 1996, and Doha won the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first Arab country to do so.
Rise to power
Born in Doha in January 1952 into the Al Thani family, which has ruled Qatar since the mid-19th century, Sheikh Hamad trained at Britain's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst and became commander of Qatar's armed forces. He was named heir apparent and defense minister in 1977. In June 1995, he seized power in a bloodless coup, deposing his father while the older ruler was abroad.
The LNG bet
Sheikh Hamad staked Qatar's future on the offshore North Field, whose gas made the emirate the top LNG exporter by 2006. Production capacity reached 77 million tons a year, according to government figures, and per capita GDP climbed into the world's highest ranks. The revenue underwrote Qatar Airways' expansion into a global carrier, sovereign investments across Europe and Asia, and hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to the Gaza Strip, where a hospital in Gaza City bears his name.
The Al Jazeera project
The 1996 launch of Al Jazeera gave Qatar a media instrument that rankled its neighbors as often as it informed audiences. Under Sheikh Hamad, the channel defied a broadcast ban during the 2011 Arab uprisings, aired anti-government protests in Egypt and helped turn Doha into a mediation hub for Lebanese, Palestinian and Sudanese disputes. Qatar also opened an office for the Afghan Taliban that set the stage for the U.S.-Taliban talks preceding the 2021 NATO withdrawal.
Isolation and criticism
The activism came at a cost. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Doha and blockaded its land, sea and air routes, accusing Qatar of backing the Muslim Brotherhood. The 2010 World Cup bid drew corruption allegations, and the run-up to the tournament brought sustained criticism over the treatment of the migrant workers who built its stadiums. Right-leaning U.S. outlets did not report the death by press time; available coverage drew on Deutsche Welle and Qatari state-linked Al Jazeera, which Sheikh Hamad founded.
Sheikh Tamim remains emir. "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 in announcing his abdication in 2013. Qatar's mourning period runs through Thursday.