Background:
Ruled by the Al Thani family since the mid-1800s, Qatar transformed
itself from a poor British protectorate noted mainly for pearling
into an independent state with significant oil and natural gas
revenues. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Qatari economy
was crippled by a continuous siphoning off of petroleum revenues by
the amir, who had ruled the country since 1972. He was overthrown by
his son, the current Amir HAMAD bin Khalifa Al Thani, in a bloodless
coup in 1995. In 2001, Qatar resolved its longstanding border
disputes with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Oil and natural gas
revenues enable Qatar to have a per capita income not far below the
leading industrial countries of Western Europe.