Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the former Emir of Qatar who transformed the nation into a major power in the Middle East and is known as the architect of modern Qatar, passed away on July 11, local time, the AP reported, citing Qatar's state news agency.
He was 74, and no specific cause of death was announced.
The former Emir is credited with expanding Qatar's political influence and driving its economic growth during his reign.
In 1995, he seized power in a bloodless coup while his father, the late Emir Sheikh Khalifa, was on a tour of Europe.
He subsequently developed the massive North Field natural gas reserves, elevating Qatar from a small, peripheral state to one of the world's largest exporters of natural resources.
Qatar is currently the world's third-largest exporter of LNG and plays a pivotal role in the global gas supply chain.
In particular, major energy-consuming nations in Northeast Asia, including South Korea, China, and Japan, have a high dependency on Qatari gas.
According to statistics from the Korea International Trade Association, South Korea imported a total of 6.97 million tons of LNG from Qatar last year, accounting for 14.9% of its total LNG imports (46.72 million tons).
This marks the third-largest volume, following Australia (31.4%) and Malaysia (16.1%).
At the same time, Qatar emerged as a key mediator in the Middle East, taking on roles in the 2008–2009 Darfur conflict in Sudan and the Lebanon Hezbollah crisis.
In October 2012, the former Emir became the first Arab head of state to visit the Gaza Strip.
He also left a significant mark in the fields of culture, media, and investment.
In 1996, he founded Al Jazeera, the first independent news network in the Middle East, and led aggressive overseas investments through the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), including the acquisition of Harrods department store in London and the purchase of a stake in the French professional football club Paris Saint-Germain (PSG).
Furthermore, he was dubbed the architect of modern Qatar for successfully securing the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, a first for the Middle East.
After reigning for 18 years, he abdicated in June 2013, passing the throne to his son, the current Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
This peaceful and voluntary transfer of power was noted as an extremely rare occurrence among Middle Eastern monarchies.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)