The political system of Qatar runs under an authoritarian semi-constitutional monarchy with the emir as head of state and chief executive, and the prime minister as the head of government. Under the Constitution of Qatar, the partially elected Consultative Assembly has limited scope for rejecting legislation or dismissing ministers. The second general election was held in 2021. Political parties are banned and all candidates must run as independents.
Foreign relations of Qatar is conducted through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Arab states were among the first to recognize Qatar, and the country gained admittance to the United Nations and the Arab League after achieving independence in 1971. The country was an early member of OPEC and a founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Diplomatic missions to Qatar are based in its capital, Doha.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani is a member of the ruling Al Thani Qatari royal family. He was the ruling Emir of Qatar from 1995 until 2013 when he abdicated the throne, handing power to his fourth son Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani who was born to his second spouse, Moza bint Nassir. The Qatari government refers to him as the Father Emir.
The music of Qatar is based on sea folk poetry, song and dance. Traditional dances in Doha are performed on Friday afternoons; one such dance is the Ardah, a stylized martial dance performed by two rows of dancers who are accompanied by an array of percussion instruments, including al-ras, tambourines and cymbals with small drums. Other folk instruments include the oud and rebaba, both string instruments, as well as the ney.
Al-Gharafa Sports Club is a Qatari multi-sports club based in the Al Gharrafa district of Al Rayyan. The club is best known for its football team, although it also has teams for other sports. The club was established on 6 June 1979 as Al-Ittihad and later officially incorporated into the Qatar Football Association on 23 September of that same year. The club was officially renamed to its current form in 2004 to better represent the district of Al-Gharafa, where the club is located. The club was most notably founded by Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al-Thani, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, Sheikh Hamad bin Faisal Al-Thani, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani and Saad Mohammed Al-Rumaihi. In a documentary produced by Al Kass sports channel about the history of the club, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim mentioned that the idea was initially suggested by Saad Al-Rumaihi who was working as a sports journalist at the Al Raya newspaper.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is Emir of Qatar, reigning since 2013.
Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares its sole land border with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its territory surrounded by the Persian Gulf. The Gulf of Bahrain, an inlet of the Persian Gulf, separates Qatar from nearby Bahrain. The capital is Doha, home to over 80% of the country's inhabitants, and the land area is mostly made up of flat, low-lying desert.
The Qatar Investment Authority is Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. The QIA was founded by the State of Qatar in 2005 to strengthen the country's economy by diversifying into new asset classes. In October 2023, the QIA has an estimated $475 billion of assets under management.
Doha is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the country's population. It is also Qatar's fastest growing city, with over 80% of the nation's population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs.
Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is the sister of Qatar's ruling Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and daughter of the country's former Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al-Missned. Al-Mayassa was declared the most influential person in art on Art+Auction's top-10 list and ArtReview's Power 100, and prominently appears on the Time 100, and Forbes' The World's 100 Most Powerful Women. She was listed in the 'Top 100 most powerful Arabs' from 2014 to 2017 and 2021 by Gulf Business. Al-Mayassa serves as Chairperson of Qatar Museums, and it was reported by Bloomberg that her annual acquisition budget on behalf of the organization is estimated at $1 billion.
Qatar and the United Arab Emirates share a naval border and are part of the Arabic-speaking Persian Gulf region. They are both members of the GCC.
The State of Qatar and the Republic of Turkey established bilateral relations in 1972. There has been ongoing cooperation and dialogue in regional and international issues since the 2010s, particularly in the Syrian Civil War and the Egyptian Crisis. Both countries also support the same groups in post-Gaddafi Libya. Most recently, Turkey provided diplomatic and food support to Qatar during the 2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis. Some political analysts claim that bilateral relations are mostly limited to political and military affinity, referring to the low trade volume, lack of trade agreements and absence of Turkish think tanks in Qatar.
Qatar Museums is a Qatari government entity that oversees the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, MIA Park, QM Gallery at the Katara Cultural Village, ALRIWAQ DOHA Exhibition Space, the Al Zubarah World Heritage Site Visitor Centre, and archaeological projects throughout Qatar, as well as the development of future projects and museums that will highlight its collections across multiple areas of activity including Orientalist art, photography, sports, children's education, and wildlife conservation.
Women's rights in Qatar are restricted by the country's male guardianship law - currently the only remaining country in the Gulf region with such laws - and influenced by the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. Both women and men were enfranchised in the country at the same time. Labour force participation rates of Qatari women are above the world average and among the highest in the Arab World, which comes mainly as a result of an increasing number of Qatari women who are attaining academic degrees.
Bilateral relations exist between the State of Qatar and the Kingdom of Bahrain. They first began in 1971.
The mass media in Qatar relays information and data in Qatar by means of television, radio, cinema, newspapers, magazines and the internet. Qatar has established itself as a leading regional figure in mass media over the past decade. Al Jazeera, a global news network which was established in 1996, has become the foundation of the media sector. The country uses media to brand itself and raise its international profile.
Egypt–Qatar relations are the bilateral relations between the State of Qatar and the Arab Republic of Egypt. They first began in 1972.
Qatar has been accused of allowing terror financiers to operate within its borders, which has been one of the justifications for the Qatar diplomatic crisis that started in 2017 and ended in 2021. In 2014, David S. Cohen, then United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, accused Qatari authorities of allowing financiers who were on international blacklists to live freely in the country: "There are U.S.- and UN-designated terrorist financiers in Qatar that have not been acted against under Qatari law." Accusations come from a wide variety of sources including intelligence reports, government officials, and journalists.
Qatari literature traces its origins back to the 19th century. Originally, written poetry was the most common form of expression, but poetry later fell out of favor after Qatar began reaping the profits from oil exports in the mid-20th century and many Qataris abandoned their Bedouin traditions in favor of more urban lifestyles.
Cinema in Qatar is a relatively young industry that evolved as part of the country’s plans to develop different local sectors with the aim of accumulating international recognition and status. Many major steps were taken to implement a long-term plan to develop the infrastructure as well as giving opportunities to local talents to have a platform that establishes their presence within the film industry with the support of the Doha Film Institute, and their various grants, workshops and festivals. The Qatar National Vision 2030 has three major pillars to development: human, social economic and environmental; this vision provides frameworks that enable the development of different elements within Qatar and its society; one of which is the high importance put on developing and cultivating artistic talents to represent and define Qatar on a global scale. Another important element in developing the movie industry is the influence and vision of Sheikha Al Mayassa who founded Doha Film Institution; the establishment of film as a mode of storytelling was imperative because it serves the purpose of granting Qatar a global presence through the talents that are supported and cultivated because of her initiative. The film industry plays a role in amplifying the Qatari national identity alongside the identity of the Arab world as a whole.
