Former Qatar ruler Sheikh Hamad, a modernizer who seized power, has died

DOHA — Qatar’s former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, a sweeping modernizer who seized power in 1995 and broke with tradition to hand it over to his son 18 years later, has died at the age of 74.

DOHA — Qatar’s former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, a sweeping modernizer who seized power in 1995 and broke with tradition to hand it over to his son 18 years later, has died at the age of 74.

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Qatar’s top government body, the Amiri Diwan, announced that Sheikh ​Hamad had died on Sunday morning. It did not mention the cause of his death.

The Qatar that the current Emir Sheikh Tamim ‌bin Hamad Al-Thani inherited was already well on its way to being remade by his father.