Overview
- Qatar’s Amiri Diwan announced the death of Sheikh Hamad on Sunday, July 12, and the government declared four days of public mourning with funeral prayers held and flags at half-mast.
- Qatari officials have not released a cause of death and provided only a short statement mourning the former ruler.
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to Doha on Monday, July 13, with senior officials to convey Pakistan’s condolences and Pakistan observed a day of national mourning.
- Sheikh Hamad is widely credited with transforming Qatar between 1995 and 2013 by launching Al Jazeera, building its liquefied natural gas industry, creating the Qatar Investment Authority and securing the 2022 World Cup bid.
- Leaders across the region and beyond offered condolences, and Qatar remains under Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, whose 2013 succession from his father is seen as ensuring continuity in the state’s foreign and economic policies.