Sheikh Hamad, former emir of Qatar dies aged 74

Qatar's former ruler Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has died at the age of 74. He was regarded as the architect of modern Qatar overseeing the rapid transformation of the small Gulf nation into one of the world's wealthiest countries.

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani ruled Qatar from 1995 to 2013. He transformed the tiny Gulf nation into a global player in diplomacy, media investment, and then shattered tradition by voluntarily turning over power to his son after 18 years as emir.

Sheikh Hamad turned his nation from a backwater into an international crossroads in less than a generation.

Qatar's natural gas production reached 77 million tonnes, making Qatar the richest country in the world per capita with the average income in the country being 86,440 US dollars a year per person.

Under his rule, Qatar bought the prestigious Harrod's department store in Londonand founded the powerful Al Jazeera satellite news network. Qatar's political reach today stretches from North Africa to Afghanistan and it hosted the previous FIFA World Cup in 2022.

Sheikh Hamad, though long out of power by then, received a 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.