Qatar’s Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani has died at the age of 74.During his 18-year rule, Sheikh Hamad reshaped the energy-rich country’s domestic and global footprint.When he assumed power in 1995, Qatar’s economy was limited in size and relied mainly on oil, while the vast gas wealth of the North Field site was still in the early stages of development.In less than two decades, Qatar became the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the owner of one of the largest sovereign wealth funds and one of the countries with the highest per capita incomes.This transformation was not just an oil or gas boom fuelled by rising energy prices, but an overhaul of the country’s economic model that was underpinned by a strategy of investing natural resource wealth in building productive assets, financial institutions, infrastructure and human capital.The economic shift did not begin with Sheikh Hamad’s assumption of power. It was preceded by his appointment in 1989 as chairman of the Supreme Council for Planning, the body then responsible for formulating Qatar’s economic and social policies, which allowed him to oversee the preparation of development programmes before he came to power.Here, we take a look at Sheikh Hamad’s economic legacy that helped transform Qatar from a small Gulf economy to a major and influential player in global energy and investment markets.How gas changed Qatar’s economyThe development of the North Field, the world’s …
