Qatar's former emir dies at 84

Qatar's former emir, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, died on Sunday at the age of 84. He had fostered Qatar into an oil rich nation.

According to AP, Qatar's state news agency QNA reported the news before sending out Koran intoning. His grandson and the current leader of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, declared three days of mourning.

The deceased had ruled Qatar for 23 years after claiming emir position from his cousin in 1972. He led Qatar's modernization by excavating natural gas. Externally, he set up a Gulf Cooperation Committee with neighboring countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. During the Gulf War in 1990, he provided Qatar's military base to the U.S.-led allied forces and after the war, he placed U.S. central command headquarters in his country to attack Sunni militants of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

During his trip to Switzerland in 1995, the former emir was deposed in a bloodless palace coup by his son, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

조은아 기자achim@donga.com