Former Qatar ruler Sheikh Hamad, a moderniser who seized power, has died

Qatar’s top government body, the Amiri Diwan, announced that Sheikh Hamad had died on Sunday morning. It did not mention the cause of his death.

Qatar’s former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, a sweeping moderniser who seized power in 1995 and broke with tradition to hand it over to his son 18 years later, has died at the age of 74.