Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, architect of modern Qatar

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former emir of Qatar who transformed the small Gulf state into one of the world’s wealthiest and most influential nations has died. He was 74.A charismatic figure with a friendly demeanor, the father Emir assumed the reins of power in 1995. Regarded as the architect of modern Qatar, he embarked on leading development and reform plans and education programs using his country’s vast natural gas wealth to push an ambitious agenda of political, economic and social reforms.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump hints at further Iran negotiations after exchange of fire over Hormuzlist 2 of 3Eliminated Morocco turn attention to cohosting 2030 World Cuplist 3 of 3Can the agreement between Iran and the US be rescued?end of listDuring his reign, Qatar’s GDP increased more than twenty-four fold, while production from the North Field turned the country into the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas by 2006. In a record time, the small nation’s LNG production capacity reached 77 million tons per annum, according to government’s figure.His tenure also saw the establishment of the Qatar-foundation" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="163724" data-entity-type="organization">Qatar Foundation, the launch of Al Jazeera News Channel in 1996, the promulgation of Qatar’s first permanent constitution in 2004 and the introduction of municipal elections in which women were granted the right to vote and stand as candidates. Under his leadership, the Gulf nation secured the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first time an Arab country had done so.Born in Doha in January 1952, Sheikh Hamad graduated from the British Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst before becoming commander of Qatar’s armed forces. He became heir apparent and defence minister in 1977, assumed power as emir on June 27, 1995, and handed over leadership to his heir apparent, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on June 25, 2013.