(FILES) The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani speaks to the media following his meeting with US President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on April 23, 2013. Qatar's government on July 12, 2026 announced the death of former leader Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who led the country from 1995 to 2013. (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD / AFP via Getty Images)