Qatar began three days of
mourning on Monday after the death of former emir Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani,
who oversaw the start of the country's transformation into an energy
powerhouse.
Prayers took place at the
national mosque after which the former ruler -- who was deposed in a bloodless
coup by his son Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in 1995 -- was buried in Al
Rayyan on the western fringes of Doha.
Flags on official buildings
flew at half-mast, and Arabic- and English-language newspapers printed their
front page coverage of the death in black and white.
Many Qataris took to social
media to express their condolences and the US ambassador in Qatar, Dana Shell
Smith, gave a statement to local media saying she was "saddened to learn
of the passing".
A state visit by Venezuelan
President Nicolas Maduro went ahead on Monday, but a high-profile conference,
involving senior FIFA and Qatar World Cup 2022 officials, scheduled for Tuesday
was cancelled as a mark of respect.
However, schools remained
open and roads were busy.
The 84-year-old former ruler
-- grandfather of the current Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani -- died on Sunday,
Qatar News Agency said, without giving the cause.
Sheikh Tamim ordered the
official mourning period.
Before becoming ruler,
Khalifa served as Qatar's prime minister and was then a pivotal figure as the
tiny emirate established itself as a major global energy producer and
subsequently one of the richest countries in the world.
He took power from a cousin
in February 1972, just months after Qatar gained independence from Britain.
During his reign, the
state-owned Qatar Petroleum was set-up in 1974, followed 10 years later by
Qatar Gas, now the world's largest liquefied natural gas company.
He was also seen as a
founding father of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the political and economic
union incorporating the six states in the region.
But while on a private visit
to Europe in 1995, Khalifa was deposed in a bloodless palace coup by Hamad, who
was defence minister at the time.
One year after his removal,
an apparent failed coup was launched in Qatar and 19 people were subsequently
charged in what was the country's biggest ever trial and sentenced to death for
trying to return Khalifa to power.
Khalifa himself remained in
exile for almost a decade, living in France before returning in 2004 to Qatar
where he kept a low profile and was rarely seen in public.
At the time he was deposed,
Qatar's population stood at around 490,000 people. Today, it is some 2.6
million, the majority of them foreigners.
Sheikh Hamad remained in
power until 2013, overseeing further extraordinary economic growth and securing
Qatar the rights to host the 2022 football World Cup, before handing over to
Sheikh Tamim.
The former emir had four
wives, five sons and 10 daughters.
Source: AFP
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