Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

Biography

Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was born in Doha in 1952. His mother died soon after his birth and he was brought up by an uncle. After schooling in Qatar he graduated from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1971, and he rose quickly in Qatar's armed forces, becoming chief of staff and, in 1977, defence minister and heir apparent.

From 1992 his father, Emir Khalifa, left much of the day-to-day government to him. When the two fell out, Hamad deposed his father in a bloodless palace coup on 27 June 1995 while Khalifa was in Switzerland, and also served as prime minister for a year. A counter-coup attempt in February 1996, which he blamed on neighbouring states, failed.

His reign rested on the export of liquefied natural gas from the North Field, which made Qatar one of the richest countries per head. He founded Al Jazeera in 1996, set up the Qatar Investment Authority in 2005, held the first municipal elections in 1999 and approved a permanent constitution in 2003, while keeping near-absolute power. Abroad he hosted US military bases while cultivating Iran, Hamas and contacts with Israel, and brought events such as the 2006 Asian Games and the 2022 World Cup bid to Doha.

In June 2013 he abdicated in favour of his son Tamim and became known as the Father Emir. He died in Doha in July 2026.