1971-1990







Qatar since 1990


Foreign Policy. . Qatar remained member of the UN, the Arab League, OPEC and GCC.
When Iraq occupied Kuwait in 1990, Qatar provided bases for the build-up of U.S.-led coalition forces, which in the Operation Desert Storm liberated Kuwait in 1991. In 2001 the World Court awarded the disputed Hawar Islands to Bahrain. In 1992 a border dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia had appeared; in 2001 both countries signed a border agreement.

Administration . Qatar is a monarchy. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani (1972-1995) was succeeded by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani (since 1995). The Advisory Council was formed in 1972. In 1997 women's suffrage was introduced. In 2003 the new constitution was approved by referendum.

The Economy . Qatar Central Bank was established in 1993 as the country's national bank, responsible for the control of money supply. The Doha Securities Market (DSM) opened in 1997.
In 1971, 1990 19.0 million metric tons of crude petroleum, in 1997 26.1 million metric tons (IHS p.364).
Qatar Airways was established in 1993, and expands rapidly since.
Qatar joined the WTO in 1996.
In 2003, the GCC members established a customs union (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE).

Social History . In 1990 the population of Qatar was 439,000 (Lahmeyer); the number for June 2007 is 907,229. Education, including university level, and health care are free.

Modern Institutions . Doha International Airport was opened in 1998.

Cultural History . Qatari athletes participated in the Summer Olympics of Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004. Runner M.A. Sulaiman (men's 1500 metres, bronze) was the first Qatari to bring home a medal. Doha, Qatar, hosted the 15th Asian Games in 2006. Al Jazeera (Qatar) tv channel began broadcasting in 1996.






EXTERNAL
FILES 		Article History of Qatar, Qatar Airways, Doha International Airport
Qatar at the 1992 Summer Olympics, Qatar at the 1996 Summer Olympics, Qatar at the 2000 Summer Olympics, Qatar at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Al Jazeera History, 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
Historical Background of Doha Securities Market
DOCUMENTS Qatar Statesmen : World Statesmen, by Ben Cahoon
Historical Population Statistics : Qatar, from Population Statistics (Jan Lahmeyer)
Constitution of Qatar of 2003, from Embassy of Qatar
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 1991 pp.414, 685, 1992 pp.388, 685, 1993 pp.390, 697, 1994 pp.390, 696, 1995 pp.460, 696, 1996 pp.457-458, 696, 1997 pp.463, 694, 2002 pp.481, 707 [G]
Article : Qatar, in : Statesman's Yearbook 1991-1992 pp.1029-1032, 1992-1993 pp.1117-1121, 1993-1994 pp.1115-1118, 1994-1995 pp.1114-1117, 1995-1996 pp.1107-1110, 1996-1997 pp.1060-1063, 1997-1998 pp.1066-1069, 1998-1999 pp.1151-1155, 2000 pp.1297-1301, 2001 pp.1264-1267, 2002 pp.1315-1319, 2003 pp.1313-1317, 2004 pp.1318-1322, 2005 pp.1330-1334, 2006 pp.1337-1341 [G]
Entry : Travel Warnings - India, pp.580-582 in : Countries of the World and their Leaders Yearbook, 2000, Supplement [G]
Entry : State of Qatar, Cabinet, p.82; Background Notes, pp.1057-1060, in : Countries of the World and their Leaders Yearbook, 2003 [G]
Entry : Qatar, pp.844-845 in : IMF, International Financial Statistics Yearbook 2001 [G]


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

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