Tel Aviv: The death of Qatar's former Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani marks the loss of a key stabilising figure. For the country's ruling Amir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the challenges ahead differ significantly from those his father confronted.
While Sheikh Hamad governed amid booming gas production, soaring energy prices and the Arab Spring — the strategic landscape today is markedly "less forgiving," a report has stated.
Also known as Qatar's 'Father Amir', Sheikh Hamad passed away on July 12 at the age of 74.
"The passing of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani marks far more than the death of a former ruler. It signals the end of the generation that created modern Qatar and raises fundamental questions about the direction the emirate will take in the coming decade. When Sheikh Hamad assumed power in 1995, Qatar was a small Gulf state with limited regional influence despite sitting atop one of the world’s largest reserves of natural gas," Sergio Restelli, an Italian political advisor, author and geopolitical expert, wrote in the ‘Times of Israel'. (IANS)
Also read: India observes day of national mourning for Qatar’s former Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani