1949-1971 since 1990







Qatar 1971-1990


Independence and Foreign Policy. . Until 1971, Qatar was one of several British protectorates in the Gulf. Originally, a larger Federation of Arab Emirates including the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain was planned. The Emir of Qatar instead sought independence for Qatar.
Qatar was admitted to the United Nations and to the Arab League in 1971. Qatar was an OPEC member since 1961.
The Gulf War between Iraq and Iran 1980-1988 destabilized the Gulf region. The Gulf States, from 1980 to 1986, remained neutral and in 1981 formed the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which Qatar was a founding member. When GCC shipping was threatened by Iranian actions, the GCC shifted toward supporting Iraq.
In 1986 a conflict between Qatar and Bahrain over the island of az-Zubarah was mediated by the Saudis.
In 1988, Qatar established diplomatic relations with the USSR and the PR China.

Administration . Qatar is a monarchy. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani ascended to the throne in 1972. The Advisory Council was formed in 1972.

The Economy . Qatar discontinued the usage of the Saudi Riyal in 1971, replacing it by a Riyal common to Dubai and Qatar. In 1973, Qatar began issuing her own banknotes. In 1980 the Qatar Riyal was pegged to the Dollar.
In 1971, Qatar produced 20.4 million metric tons of crude petroleum, in 1990 19.0 million metric tons (IHS pp.363-364). The oil industry (hitherto Shell Qatar) was nationalized in 1974, and reorganized as Qatar General Petroleum Corporation.
The Industrial Development Technical Centre (IDTC) was formed in 1973; its task was to develop domestic industries. The Qatar Fertilizer Co. had been established in 1969; Qatar Steel Co. was established in 1974, Qatar Petrochemical started production in 1981.

Social History . In 1971 the population of Qatar was 122,000; by 1990 it had grown to 439,000 (Lahmeyer). Education, including university level, and health care are free.

Cultural History . The University of Qatar was established in 1973. In 1973 the Qatar National First Division (Soccer championship) was established. Qatari athletes participated in the Summer Olympics of Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Article History of Qatar, Qatar National First Division, Qatar at the 1984 Summer Olympics, Qatar at the 1988 Summer Olympics, University of Qatar, Qatari Riyal, from Wikipedia
Qatar, from A Global History of Currencies (B. Taylor)
Historical Perspective, from Qatar Central Bank
Qatar in the 20th Century, from DIB Qatar
Qatar, from Library of Congress, Country Studies
DOCUMENTS Qatar Statesmen : World Statesmen, by Ben Cahoon
Historical Population Statistics : Qatar, from Population Statistics (Jan Lahmeyer)
REFERENCE IHS : International Historical Statistics : Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750-2000, edited by B.R. Mitchell, Basingstoke : Palgrave MacMillan 4th ed. 2003
Article : Qatar, in : Britannica Book of the Year 1972 p.592, 1973 p.574, 1974 p.577, 1975 p.581, 1976 p.577, 1977 p.578, 1978 p.600, 1979 p.592, 1980 p.589, 1981 pp.589-590, 1982 p.591, 1983 p.583, 1984 p.585, 1985 pp.494, 764, 1986 pp.489, 763, 1987 pp.459, 731, 1988 pp.416-417, 683, 1989 pp.416-417, 683, 1990 pp.434, 699 [G]
Article : Qatar, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1975-1976 pp.1268-1269, 1976-1977 pp.1261-1262, 1978-1979 pp.1008-1009, 1979-1980 pp.1014-1016, 1980-1981 pp.1015-1017, 1981-1982 pp.1018-1020, 1983-1984 pp.1011-1013, 1984-1985 pp.1008-1010, 1985-1986 pp.1010-1012, 1986-1987 pp.1010-1012, 1987-1988 pp.1014-1016, 1988-1989 pp.1016-1019, 1989-1990 pp.1028-1031, 1990-1991 pp.1029-1032 [G]
Article : Qatar, in : The World in Figures 1st ed. 1976 pp.193-194, 2nd ed. 1978 pp.193-194, 4th ed. 1984 pp.193-194 [G]
Article : Persian Gulf States, in : Americana Annual 1972 p.529 [G]
Article : Persian Gulf States - Qatar, in : Americana Annual 1973 pp.532-533 [G]


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted on June 9th 2007

Click here to go Home
Click here to go to Information about KMLA, WHKMLA, the author and webmaster
Click here to go to Statistics