Qatar's Father Amir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani Passes Away at 74

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Father Amir of Qatar, died on July 12, 2026, at the age of 74. He led Qatar as its Emir from 1995 to 2013, voluntarily stepping aside in favor of his son, current Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. 

India Declares One-Day National Mourning to Honour Qatar's Former Amir Sheikh Hamad

As a mark of respect, India's government ordered a single day of state mourning across the country on July 13, 2026. Flags will be lowered to half-mast wherever they're normally flown on government premises, and no official celebrations will take place that day.

About Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani

1. Born in 1952, Sheikh Hamad belonged to the Al Thani dynasty, which has governed Qatar since the 1800s. 
2. He trained at Sandhurst, the UK's premier military academy, before rising to command Qatar's armed forces and later serving as defence minister. 
3. Named crown prince in the late 1970s, he eventually took the throne in 1995 by removing his own father from power in a bloodless coup while the latter was traveling abroad.
4. His decades in charge saw Qatar's economy pivot towards natural gas wealth, positioning it among the highest GDP-per-capita nations worldwide, At the same time, Qatar Airways and Doha grew into major global aviation and transit hubs. 
5. Beyond World Cup hosting rights, secured in 2010 amid corruption allegations and later criticised over migrant worker conditions, his tenure is also tied to Qatar's outreach in Gaza, including a hospital named after him.
6.  His rule wasn't free of friction, either between 2017 and 2021, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt severed ties with Doha, cutting off land, sea, and air access over claims that Qatar backed extremist groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood.