Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani
Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani (Arabic حمد بن خليفة آل ثاني, DMG Hamad b Halifa Āl Tani; . * 1952 in Doha) from 1995 to 2013, the head of state of Qatar.
Life
Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani is part of the widely ramified dynasty Al Thani, one originally from Saudi Arabia Bedouin clan that represents the ruler of Qatar since the 19th century.
He made the 1971 graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom. He then went through a career as an officer in Qatar's army and brought it up to the Commander in Chief with the rank of major general. During this time he developed reform plans to modernize the army structure. In 1977 he was appointed at the same time for the Crown Prince and Minister of Defense, 1991, he was instrumental in the liberation of Kuwait in the Gulf War. From 1979 to 1991 he was also before the High Council for Youth Services of his country. In 1995 he sat in a bloodless coup, his father Emir Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, while this was in Geneva, Switzerland. He began to modernize the country, opposite the West to open and convert them into democratic structures: So led under his rule in 1999 Qatar was the first country in the Gulf region, the active and passive municipal woman suffrage, 2003, a new constitution based on universal suffrage and a parliament (Al Shoura ). However, the conduct of elections is still only in the planning stage (August 2011).
In 1996 he founded the capital of Qatar, Doha, the Arab news station Al Jazeera. The Emir is one of the most important U.S. ally in the Gulf region: Together with one of his wives, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned, sociologist and current education minister of Qatar, he established in Doha six American universities broadcast live lectures from the U.S.. He scored numerous major sporting events, including the Asian Games 2006 and the FIFA World Cup 2022 to Qatar.
Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani has three wives and 27 children, seven of them 'm with Mozah, including the 1980 -born heir apparent Tamim Hamad Al Thani.
During the civil war in Syria, he stood on the side of the opposition and called for a military intervention.
In October 2012 Hamad Bin Khalifa Al- Thani visited the Gaza Strip. He was the first sitting head of state toured the sealed off by Israel since the takeover by Hamas in 2006. For humanitarian reconstruction assistance in the Gaza Strip, the emirate pledged to approximately 300 million euros.
On June 25, 2013 Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani officially thanked favor of his son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani from.