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Thanks to oil revenues, after World War II,
Qatar was able to go from being one of the world's
poorest countries to becoming one of the richest. In
1971 the British left Qatar and the country became
independent under emir Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani. He was
deposed the following year in a bloodless coup by his
cousin, who in turn was overthrown in 1995 by his son,
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. During Hamad, some
modernization and democratization began.
When the British left Qatar, the idea was that the
country would be included in what is today the United
Arab Emirates. But Qatar could not agree with the other
Emirates on the terms of membership of the federation
and chose full independence.
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ABBREVIATIONFINDER:
List of most commonly used acronyms containing Qatar. Also includes historical, economical and political aspects of the country.
Already the following year, in 1972, the emir Ahmad
bin Ali Al Thani was deposed in a bloody coup by his
cousin, the then Crown Prince and Prime Minister Khalifa
bin Hamad Al Thani. He named himself emir and retained
the post of prime minister. After the coup, Khalifa
advanced rapidly in terms of education, social reform,
healthcare and infrastructure. Quantities of housing and
schools were built, and a pension system was introduced.
At the same time, the emir adhered to Islamic living
rules. There were no approaches to political
democratization.
The 1990-1991 Kuwait War marked a turnaround in
Qatar's relations with the United States. Previously, it
was unthinkable for most countries in the region to ally
themselves with the country that was Israel's foremost
ally. (The Arab countries were consistently opposed to
the establishment of modern Israel and have continued to
be deeply critical of the subsequent occupation of
Palestinian territories.) But after Iraq invaded Kuwait
in 1990, Qatar felt compelled to secure its own security
and signed several military cooperation agreements with
the United States. The US military presence established
in accordance with the agreements later formed the basis
for US operations during the Iraq war in 2003, when
Iraq's dictator Saddam Hussein was overthrown.
 Bargain against the emir
In 1995, emir Khalifa, who was said to have seized
billions of dollars worth of state assets, was deposed
in a bloodless coup by his son, Crown Prince Hamad bin
Khalifa Al Thani. He took the title emir and launched a
series of reforms to modernize Qatar politically and
economically.
The deposed emir traveled around the region in the
mid-1990s and sought support to regain power. The
attempt failed, and later it was announced that father
and son had been reconciled, after the seized assets
were returned.
A new coup attempt was reported in 1996. Around a
hundred people, mostly military and police, were
arrested by security forces. They were imprisoned,
according to human rights organizations, after defective
trials. Four years later, the emir's cousin and 32 other
people were arrested for the same coup attempt.
The takeover of power marked the start of a
collaboration with the outside world with the aim of
extracting Qatar's large natural gas assets. In the
coming years, several agreements were made that made
Qatar one of the most important natural gas producers,
including an export agreement with the United Arab
Emirates in 2002. A collaboration with the energy giant
Shell the following year led to the construction of the
world's largest natural gas plant.
Hamad's entry into power worsened the already
strained relations with Saudi Arabia. The dispute was
partly about Qatar's relations with Israel and expressed
itself in armed confrontations at the border. In 1996,
relations were normalized after the countries agreed on
border controls, but Hamad continued to pursue a policy
of balancing Saudi Arabia's influence in the region.
al-Jazira is started
A tool to strengthen Qatar's influence abroad was the
launch of the Arabic-language TV channel al-Jazira. The
channel became known for outspoken journalism of the
Western cut and aroused the suspicion of many Arab
countries because of its controversial reporting of
regional conflicts. It also angered the United States
after sending video-recorded statements by the terrorist
accused and calling for Usama bin Ladin (recordings from
which every news editor in the world was interested in
sending excerpts). al-Jazira was given a lot of room for
journalistic coverage, as long as it was not the Qatari
regime that emerged in bad days.
In early 1998, the emir announced that general
elections would be held and in March 1999 the first
general elections in Qatar's history were held. At that
time, 29 members were elected to a council that gained
influence on local issues. Women were also candidates
and just under 50 percent of voters participated in the
election. No parliamentary election, which was also
promised, was held.
The regime's decision to allow women to vote and run
for office aroused consternation in conservative circles
and sparked protests in both Qatar and some neighboring
countries. As early as 1996, Qatar was the first country
in the Persian Gulf to have a female government
official, when the emir appointed a woman as secretary
of state for education and culture. In 2003, Qatar also
got its first female minister.
A constitutional committee presented a proposal for a
new constitution in 2002. The proposal was adopted in a
referendum in 2003. The country's advisory assembly,
Majlis al-Shura, would have greater similarities to
a people-elected parliament, with some influence over
the legislation (see Political system). The assembly
would consist of 45 members, 30 of whom were elected and
the rest appointed by the emir. According to the
proposal, power would be separated between the
legislative, executive and legal bodies. However, the
general elections that were promised did not come to
fruition.
Opposition group is formed
A group of civil servants, students and military
formed an opposition group in 2002 and demanded that the
emir abdicate in favor of Crown Prince Jasim, but this
did not happen. The reason was dissatisfaction with the
foreign policy that has led to deteriorating relations
with Qatar's neighboring countries. The group also
accused the emir of corruption.
In 2004, trade unions were allowed and working hours
were regulated to eight hours working day. A ban on
child labor was introduced.
In the same year, new anti-terrorism legislation with
the death penalty was adopted. Qatar had long been
spared terror attacks, but in March 2005 a bomb exploded
outside a theater in an area where Westerners were happy
to move. One British national was killed and twelve
people injured. An Islamist group took on the
responsibility.
In April 2007, the Emir Hamad bin Jasim Al Thani, a
member of the ruling clan and known as HBJ, appointed a
new head of government. HBJ had long been regarded as
one of the country's most influential politicians. Among
other things, he led Qatar's powerful investment
authority, QIA, with upwards of $ 100 billion from the
country's huge gas and oil revenues to invest in
projects for the benefit of Qatar's future. Perhaps the
biggest attention was drawn to such things as the
acquisition of Harrod's London department store 2010, as
well as shares in banks such as Swiss Crédit Suisse and
British Barclay's as well as German car manufacturers
Porsche and Volkswagen.
2003
August
The Emir changes the heir to the throne
The Emir appoints his youngest son, Tamim, as a follower of the throne
instead of his eldest son Jasim. Tamim is the second oldest son of the emir and
his second wife.
April
Yes to new constitution
A large majority of voters vote yes to a new constitution. According to the
constitution, a new parliament is to be established.
March
Iraq invasion from Qatar
The US uses its bases in Qatar in connection with the invasion of Iraq.
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