During his 18-year rule, Sheikh Hamad reshaped the energy-rich country's domestic and global footprint.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani passed away on Sunday, 12 July 2026, at the age of 74. Picture: X/@BRICSinfo
President Cyril Ramaphosa has conveyed South Africa’s deepest condolences on the passing of former Qatari Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Sheikh Hamad passed away on Sunday, 12 July 2026, at the age of 74.
During his 18-year rule, Sheikh Hamad reshaped the energy-rich country’s domestic and global footprint.
Legacy
Ramaphosa hailed Sheikh Hamad as a visionary leader whose “legacy of peace, prosperity and global influence continues to inspire the world.”
Ramaphosa extended his condolences to the Royal Family, the government and the people of Qatar.
As South Africa, we consider ourselves close friends and partners of the State of Qatar, which has been a model of peace, development, prosperity and global influence, inspired by the extraordinary leadership of the late Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
“In this moment of sorrow, we join the people of Qatar and the allies and friends globally in mourning the loss of a distinguished leader whose vision, wisdom, and unwavering dedication to the socio-economic progress and prosperity of his nation and the Global South left an enduring legacy. May his soul be favoured with forgiveness and mercy,” Ramaphosa said.
Qatar
When Sheikh Hamad assumed power in 1995, Qatar’s economy was small and relied mainly on oil, while the vast gas wealth of the North Field was still in its early stages of development.
In less than two decades, Qatar became the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the owner of one of the largest sovereign wealth funds and one of the countries with the highest per capita incomes, according to Al Jazeera.
This transformation was not just an oil or gas boom fuelled by rising energy prices, but an overhaul of the country’s economic model underpinned by a strategy of investing natural resource wealth in productive assets, financial institutions, infrastructure, and human capital.
