Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
that now houses the National Museum), after Turkey entered WWI on the opposite side to
Britain. Thereafter, the British guaranteed Qatar's protection in exchange for a promise
that the ruler would not deal with other foreign powers without British permission - an
agreement that endured until independence was proclaimed on 1 September 1971.
Rags to Oil Riches
Qatar's history from WWI to the end of the 20th century reads rather like a fairy tale. Life
in Qatar, even before the collapse of the pearl market in the 1930s, was marked by wide-
spread poverty, malnutrition and disease. The arrival of oil prospectors and the establish-
ment in 1935 of Petroleum Development Qatar, a forerunner of today's state-run Qatar
General Petroleum Corporation (QGPC), signalled the beginning of a brave new world,
even though WWII delayed production of oil for another 10 years.
Although not huge in comparative terms, the oil revenue instantly turned the tiny, im-
poverished population into one of the richest per capita countries in the world. Qatar's
first school opened in 1952 and a full-scale hospital followed in 1959, marking the begin-
ning of long-term investment in the country's modernisation. Most of these improvements
occurred under the leadership not of Sheikh Abdullah's son Ali, nor his grandson Ahmed,
but under that of his nephew Khalifa bin Hamad al-Thani, who, over a period of 15 years,
ran many of the country's ministries, including foreign affairs, oil and the police.
On 22 February 1972 Khalifa ousted his politically apathetic kinsmen in a palace coup.
Astutely, one of his first gestures was to crack down on the extravagance of the royal
household. Celebrating the stability that his reign and increasing oil prices brought to
Qatar, Sheikh Khalifa invested in Qatar, particularly in terms of developing an all-encom-
passing welfare state that provides free education and healthcare, job opportunities in the
public sector and generous pensions for Qatari nationals.
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People & Society
The National Psyche
Watching 4WDs racing over the sand dunes, attached to trailers holding sand buggies and
skis, it's clear that this is a very rich country. Back in the 1970s it wasn't uncommon to
see a brand-new Mercedes-Benz, with 22-carat gold badge and no number plate, squeal-
ing through the streets, having just been handed over to a potential customer on approval.
