Former Qatar Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah died on Wednesday, 27 May, in London at the age of 74. Al-Attiyah was considered one of the leading figures behind the development of Qatar's energy and gas sector and helped lead the country's economic transformation into the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas. Al-Attiyah held several senior leadership positions during his career, most notably deputy prime minister and minister of energy and industry, in addition to serving as chairman of Qatar Petroleum. He was known for his extensive expertise in oil, gas and energy, with a career spanning more than four decades.
During his tenure overseeing the energy sector, Qatar witnessed major expansion in liquefied natural gas projects, making it one of the world's largest gas exporters. He also helped build strategic international partnerships with major global energy companies and supported industrial and development investments linked to the energy sector.
Al-Attiyah's role was not limited to the economic sphere. He participated in numerous international conferences and forums representing the State of Qatar, where he was known for defending energy and sustainable development issues. He also contributed to strengthening global dialogue on energy security and environmental sustainability.
Al-Attiyah is regarded as one of the most prominent economic figures in modern Qatar history because of his clear impact in building a strong energy sector that contributed to economic development and strengthened the country's global standing. The late official began his career at the Ministry of Finance and Petroleum in 1972 and rose through government ranks until he was appointed minister of energy and industry in 1992. He was later appointed deputy prime minister while retaining the energy and industry portfolio until 2011.
He also founded the Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development in 2015, which focuses on energy, environment, and development issues and supports research on the future of global energy.
He headed the Amiri Diwan from 2011 to 2015 and helped shape and implement Qatar's sovereign policies. He also chaired the board of the Qatari club Al Sadd for many years, during which the club achieved local and continental successes, making it one of the region's leading clubs. Al Sadd mourned him in a statement, describing him as the "spiritual father of the club, former club president and one of Al Sadd's founders".
In one of his most prominent interviews with The New Arab and website on 6 March 2024, Al-Attiyah presented his vision on energy , wars and international transformations and firmly rejected the idea of using oil and gas as a weapon against countries supporting Israel in the war on Gaza, calls that had gained popular momentum across the Arab world since the outbreak of the war.
Al-Attiyah, who directly witnessed the 1973 Arab oil embargo, stressed that global conditions had changed radically and that using such a weapon was "futile" and could even become "economic suicide" for producing countries without achieving the desired political objective.
He said the United States and Europe possessed broad alternative energy options and that the US itself had shifted from the world's largest oil importer to one of the largest producers and exporters, particularly after the shale oil boom.
Despite his economic realism, Al-Attiyah expressed a strongly worded humanitarian and political position regarding Israel's genocidal war on Gaza , describing what was happening as "genocide" and a "mad war conducted in a dirty manner unseen in the modern world". However, he said it had created an unprecedented shift in global public opinion in favour of the Palestinian cause. Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .