Sheikh Hamad personally directed that billions be spent on supplying weapons as well as fuel and supplies to the Libyan rebels.Īs one of the world’s richest countries with a cradle-to-grave welfare system for its 250,000 native population, Qatar has largely escaped the unrest seen in other Arab countries. Sheikh Hamad mediated conflicts in Darfur, Somalia and Lebanon, often by hosting lavish multi-day peace talks in five-star hotels until the rival sides agreed to a deal.īut it was Qatar’s aggressive intervention in the Arab Spring revolts, especially supplying rebels in Libya with weapons to oust long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi and pushing for Arab agreement on a no-fly zone, that really turned attention to the peninsula state of 1.9 million people. Under Hamad’s tenure, along with his influential wife Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, Qatar garnered much attention in the past decade through the launch of the Al Jazeera television network, as well as its successful bid to host the 2022 soccer World Cup. “This not only improved his status domestically, but furthered Qatar economically by encouraging a modern, attractive and liberalising image.” “He dexterously fostered a unique place for Qatar as a relatively neutral country in a volatile region,” said David Roberts, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute in Doha. The impetus behind Sheikh Hamad’s pursuit of the limelight for his country over the past decade, analysts say, was a wish to differentiate Qatar from regional neighbours, especially Sunni powerhouse and rival Saudi Arabia. The handover cements Qatar’s standing as “the great regional maverick”, said Kristian Ulrichsen, a Gulf expert at The Baker Institute for Public Policy. The dramatic step is unheard of in a region where, until Arab Spring revolts two years ago, authoritarian rulers usually remained in power for life. His vision is expected to continue after he announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down and handing power to his son, Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. What both groups tend to agree on is that Sheikh Hamad has managed to turn the tiny Gulf state into a regional powerhouse that punches above its weight in international diplomacy and high-rolling finance.
To his critics, the 61-year-old ruler only pretends to be a friend of the masses, for while he backed Arab Spring revolts against autocracy, he clamped down on freedoms at home. To his admirers, Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is a champion of the common man’s struggle against tyranny, and a visionary who turned billions of dollars in energy revenues into strategic international investments.
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