DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) 鈥� Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who as ruler of Qatar transformed the tiny Persian Gulf nation into a global player in diplomacy, media and investment, and then , has died, state media reported. He was 74.
The state-run Qatar News Agency reported his death. It offered no cause.
Sheikh Hamad, who stepped down in June 2013 after 18 years as emir, was the architect of energy-rich Qatar鈥檚 stunning ambitions that turned it from a backwater into an international crossroads in less than a generation. Qatar owns the Harrod鈥檚 department store in London and founded the powerful Al Jazeera satellite news network.
Qatar鈥檚 political reach today stretches from North Africa to Afghanistan and it hosted , the world鈥檚 most-watched soccer event. Sheikh Hamad, though long out of power, received thunderous applause from Qataris attending its opening match.
But Qatar鈥檚 rise under Sheikh Hamad also rankled regional and Western allies with its independent-minded policymaking, including its close .
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