Death of former Emir Sheikh Hamad, architect of modern Qatar

The Qatari government announced on Sunday the death of the former ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who reigned over Qatar from 1995 to 2013 before surprising everyone by abdicating in favor of his fourth son.

"It is with hearts resolute in faith in the will and destiny of God that the Diwan of the Emir mourns the passing of His Highness the father Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani - may God grant him His mercy -, a great loss for the nation," the Emir's office announced.

The former ruler, who had deposed his father, Sheikh Khalifa, in a bloodless palace revolution in 1995, inherited a small, marginal emirate with almost empty coffers, which he transformed into a major player on the regional and international stage.

In just a few years, he succeeded in laying the foundations for the accelerated development of Qatar, making it one of the world's largest producers of liquefied natural gas.

This transformation was based on the creation of the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund tasked with investing billions of dollars, particularly abroad.

A loyal ally of the United States, Sheikh Hamad has simultaneously established his country as an indispensable player in Arab politics, acting alternately as mediator, funder and diplomatic actor.

This strategy notably resulted in the launch, in 1996, of the international news channel Al Jazeera, which became one of Qatar's main instruments of influence and played a major role during the Arab Spring.

Domestically, Sheikh Hamad introduced some political reforms, including the adoption by referendum in 2003 of a Constitution which provides for a separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers but which maintains executive power in the hands of the emir and his cabinet.

Sheikh Hamad surprised everyone by voluntarily abdicating in 2013 in favor of his fourth son, Sheikh Tamim, in a Middle East where leaders often remain in power until their last breath.

Since his abdication, he has remained relatively discreet and rarely appeared in public.

Sheikh Hamad was still emir when Qatar was awarded the hosting of the 2022 World Cup in 2010.

It was also during his reign that Qatar began pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the Gaza Strip, notably funding road projects along the coastline. A hospital in Gaza City bears his name.

Located on a peninsula in the southern Gulf, Qatar is one of the smallest Arab states (11,437 km2), with a population of 2.5 million inhabitants, most of whom are foreigners.

Ruled by the Al-Thani family since the mid-19th century, it had refused to join the federation of the United Arab Emirates upon its independence in 1971, after 55 years of British protectorate.