Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, خليفة بن حمد آل ثاني; 17 September 1932 – 23 October 2016) was the
Emir of Qatar from
27 February 1972 until he was deposed by his son
Hamad bin Khalifa on
27 June 1995. He died during the reign of his grandson, the current Emir,
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Early years
Sheikh Khalifa was born in
Doha
Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor, it is home to m ...
in 1932.
He was the son of
Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani
Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani ( ar, حمد بن عبدالله بن جاسم بن محمد آل ثاني; 1896 – 27 May 1948) was Crown Prince of the State of Qatar. Sheikh Hamad was the second son of the second E ...
and grandson of
Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani
Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, عبد الله بن جاسم بن محمد آل ثاني "Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani"), also known as Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani or Sheikh Abdullah bin Qassim Al Thani, ...
.
Career
In 1957, Khalifa was appointed Minister of Education.
Then, he was appointed Deputy Emir.
[ He was named as the heir apparent on 24 October 1960.] In the 1960s, he also served as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
.[
On 22 February 1972, Sheikh Khalifa became the Emir of Qatar, seizing power from his cousin, Emir ]Ahmad bin Ali Al Thani
Sheikh Ahmad bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani ( ar, أحمد بن علي بن عبد الله بن جاسم بن محمد آل ثاني; 1922 – 25 November 1977) was the Emir of Qatar who ruled from 1960 to 1972. Qatar's f ...
in a bloodless coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
. While many Western news outlets referred to it as an overthrow, the Qatari population merely considered it to be a succession of power.[ His initial activity was the process of the reorganization of the government.][ He also limited the financial privileges of members of the ruling family.][ Next, he appointed a foreign minister and an adviser to himself regarding the day-to-day affairs.][ On 19 April 1972, he amended the Constitution and expanded the Cabinet by appointing more ministers. Diplomatic relations were also established with a number of foreign countries at the
ambassadorial level.
Khalifa's reorganization of the system of government saw a dramatic shift in the hierarchy of authority. He immensely reduced the traditional powers afforded to the heir-apparent while projecting all of the power onto himself.
On 18 July 1989, the cabinet was reshuffled for the first time, replacing most of the previous ministers and making it consist of 15 ministers. The Cabinet was again reshuffled under his premiership on 1 September 1992, expanding it to 17 members.
The state revenue from the oil sector had increased as the result of the rising of a number of production sharing agreements with foreign oil companies. Two production-sharing agreements were signed with the Standard Oil Company of ]Ohio
Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...
in January 1985 and Amoco
Amoco () is a brand of fuel stations operating in the United States, and owned by BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company in 1889 around a refinery in Whiting, India ...
in February 1986. In January 1989, another production sharing agreement was signed between Qatar and the French state-owned oil company Elf Aquitaine. In the middle of 1991, production of gas in the Qatar North Field, the world's largest single field of non-associated gas (proven gas reserves of around 250 trillion cubic feet and probable reserves of 500 trillion cubic feet), commenced. While the search for finding more oil deposits in Qatar continued, Qatar built an industrial base in order to reduce dependence on the oil sector.
Dethronement and death
While Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani was staying in Geneva, Switzerland, in June 1995, his son Hamad bin Khalifa seized power in another bloodless coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
. Khalifa lived in France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
until he returned to Qatar in 2004. He died on 23 October 2016 at the age of 84.
Marriages and children
Sheikh Khalifa had five sons and twelve daughters from four wives.
*Sheikha Amna bint Hassan bin Abdullah Al Thani
** Sheikh Abdelaziz bin Khalifa, Petroleum and finance minister (1972–1992)
**Sheikha Maryem Bint Khalifa
**Sheikha Noora bint Khalifa
**Sheikha Hissa bint Khalifa
**Sheikha Jafla bint Khalifa
**Sheikha Moza bint Khalifa
*Sheikha Aisha bint Hamad Al Attiyah
** Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa, Emir of Qatar from 1995 to 2013.
*Sheikha Rudha bint Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani
**Sheikha Aisha Bint Khalifa
**Sheikha Sheikha bint Khalifa
**Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa
**Sheikha Amna Bint Khalifa
**Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa
**Sheikha Lolwa Bint Khalifa
**Sheikha Amal Bint Khalifa
**Sheikha Al Anoud bint Khalifa
*Sheikha Moza bint Ali bin Saud Al Thani
**Sheikh Jassim bin Khalifa
**Sheikha Nouf bint Khalifa
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thani, Khalifa Bin Hamad
Thani, Khalifa bin Hamid
2016 deaths
Qatari Muslims
Emirs of Qatar
Muslim monarchs
Khalifa bin Hamad
Government ministers of Qatar
Prime Ministers of Qatar
Finance ministers of Qatar
Leaders who took power by coup
Leaders ousted by a coup
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
20th-century Arabs