Qatar's former leader dead

 

TT-AP

 

Published 08:36Updated 09:25

 

Qatar's former emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani has died. Picture from 2012. Photo: Hatem Moussa/AP/TT

Qatar's former emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani has died at the age of 74, the country's state news agency reported.

Sheikh Hamad, who ruled Qatar between 1995 and 2013, transformed the small oil state in the Persian Gulf into a global player in diplomacy, media and investment. Qatar is one of the world's richest countries and owns, among other things, the Harrods department store in London and the Al Jazeera news channel.

In 2013, the emir handed over power to his son Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, who has led the country since then. The peaceful, voluntary transfer of power was rare in a region where such a change is often the result of overthrows and coups. Sheikh Hamad himself took control after deposing his father, Sheikh Khalifa, in a coup in 1995.

Former Swedish royal press officer Elisabeth Tarras-Wahlberg worked as an advisor to Sheikh Hamad in 2008–2009.