His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani

Wednesday, 18 December 2013 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (born 1952) was the ruling Emir of the State of Qatar from 1995 to 2013. Sheikh Hamad is credited with transforming Qatar from an underdeveloped, Bedouin nation into a bustling modern country. Under his reign, the country won the right to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Doha, the first event of its kind to occur in the Middle East. Under the patronage of Sheikh Hamad and his wife Sheikha Mozah bin Nasser Al-Misnad, several world-class academic institutions have opened campuses in Doha, including Carnegie Mellon University, Georgetown University, Northwestern University, Texas A&M University and Weill Cornell Medical College.

In the arts, Sheikh Hamad established the Qatar Museums Authority in 2005 which built the I. M. Pei designed Museum of Islamic Art Doha. Since opening, Qatar has become the world’s biggest contemporary art buyer, famously purchasing Cézanne’s The Card Players in 2012 for over $250 million USD. The Museum Authority sponsored Takashi Murakami’s EGO exhibit in Doha which ran from 9 February to 24 June 2012, Damien Hirst’s retrospective at Tate Modern in Spring and Summer 2012 and his upcoming exhibition Relic, slated to open in Doha in October 2013. In July 2013, in conjunction with Miuccia Prada and the Prada Foundation, QMA launched CURATE, a global search for curatorial talent. Additionally, the Doha Film Institute was established in 2009 which in partnership with the Tribeca Film Festival (founded by Robert De Niro), created the Doha Tribeca Film Festival that ran from 2009 - 2012. The Doha Film Institute is producing Salma Hayek’s upcoming animated adaptation of Khalil Gibran’s classic novel The Prophet, with “Lion King” director Roger Allers co-ordinating the process. DFI is also credited as a production company on several other films, including Just Like a Woman starring Sienna Miller, The Reluctant Fundamentalist directed by Mira Nair which opened 69th Venice International Film Festival, and Kanye West’s Cruel Summer - a short film which shot in Doha and premiered during the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. In February 2013, they announced a $100 million feature film fund with Participant Media, a production company founded by billionaire Jeffrey Skoll, who was the first employee and also first president of internet auction firm eBay. In 2005, under the direction of Sheikh Hamad and the former Prime Minister of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, the Qatar Investment Authority was established, a sovereign wealth fund to manage the country’s oil and natural gas surpluses. The Qatar Investment Authority and its subsidiaries have acquired many businesses abroad, including London’s iconic department store Harrods from entrepreneur

Mohammed Al-Fayed, Paris based department store Printemps, French football club Paris Saint-Germain F.C., a former 10% stake in Porsche, a 75% stake in film studio Miramax which they acquired from Disney, a 2% stake in media conglomerate and Universal Music Group parent company Vivendi, a $100 million USD investment in Chernin Group - whose founder Peter Chernin was COO of News Corp and President of Fox, a 1% stake in luxury goods manufacturer Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, a 6% stake in Credit Suisse, a 12.6% stake in Barclays and several other major companies. They also backed Glencore’s $31 billion USD takeover bid for Xstrata. Qatar is the largest property owner in London with their holdings including Europe’s tallest building The Shard, Olympic Village and Park Lane’s InterContinental Hotel. They also own several hotels in Cannes including the Majestic Hotel, Grand Hyatt Cannes Hôtel Martinez and Carlton Hotel. QIA was considered to have one of the leading bids in the sales of both Anschutz Entertainment Group and Hulu. As of May 2013, it was reported the Investment Authority is in talks to purchase Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman. Sheikh Hamad is famous for helping to establish the first Arab international news network, Al Jazeera, when he provided a loan of QAR 500 million ($137 million) to sustain Al Jazeera through its first five years. Sheikh Hamad’s support of Al Jazeera has played an integral role in sparking the Arab Spring and creating uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria. In October 2012, Sheikh Hamad made a historic visit to Gaza and pledged $400 million USD in humanitarian aid to Hamas, to build infrastructure projects and hospitals. Despite Qatar’s ties to Hamas, they maintain diplomatic and business relations with Israel. Sheikh Hamad provided financial and material support to opposition rebels in both the Libyan civil war, which led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, and the ongoing Syrian civil war which seeks to oust President Bashar al-Assad. It has been reported that he has also provided support to jihadist organizations such as Ansar Dine and the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa, who are fighting for independence in the Northern Mali conflict, as well as the Al-Nusra Front in Syria. On June 25, 2013, Sheikh Hamad announced he would be handing over power to his 33-year old son Sheikh Tamim. The move was seen as groundbreaking for the Middle East, where leaders typically stay in office until their death.