Thāni, Shaykh Khalīfa ibn Hạmad al-

▪ emir of Qatar

born 1932, Doha, Qatar

      amīr of Qatar (1972–95), who came to power five months after Qatar became a sovereign independent state (September 1971).

      Shaykh Khalīfa held numerous governmental posts, including chief of security forces, director of education, and minister of finance and petroleum affairs, in the 1950s and 1960s. He became amīr in February 1972 by deposing his cousin Shaykh Aḥmad, whose profligate spending habits had aroused popular opposition. Khalīfa's family, including his sons and brothers, virtually controlled the government, holding 10 of 15 ministries in 1975.

      As amīr, Khalīfa tried to direct and control the process of modernization stimulated by the boom in oil production. His economic policy was to diversify the economy by vastly expanding the agricultural sector and by building fertilizer plants and other new industries. Although political parties and labour unions were banned in 1976, Khalīfa ruled by decree within the framework of a written constitution and Islāmic law.

      Following the Persian Gulf War (1990–91), in which Qatari troops participated, Khalīfa left daily governing to his sons, one of whom, Shaykh Hạmad ibn Khalīfa al-Thāni, installed himself as amīr by staging a peaceful coup in June 1995, while Khalīfa was traveling abroad.

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