Sheikh Hamad built the Qatar the world knows today, says Adam Ereli

And Adam Arely is the former Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Qatar, joins us now also from Washington, D.C. Very good to have you with us. Sir, you knew the former Emir, you spent time with him, you worked with him indeed, as I understand it, you stood up as ambassador around the 2001-2003 period post 9-11, a particularly sensitive period for U.S.-Qatar relations. What do you remember of that time and your interactions with him? Well, you know, it's so interesting. And first of all, he was a very personable guy. I mean, yes, he was a leader and the father of the nation. And, you know, as all your reports have said, just a man of tremendous vision and courage. But he was also, when you met him and when you were in his company, he was very personable. He was very charming. He had he had charisma. You know, he wasn't one of these aloof or distant sort of authorities. He was strong and he had a character and he had decisiveness. But he was also he was also you felt comfortable in his presence. And, you know, obviously, I think all Qataris today feel this way that they've lost really a member of their family, somebody very close to them. And the pain is real. And I send my condolences to them. I mean, again, this is this this speaks to his this speaks to his his character and his strength of personality. But, you know, as we talk about the legacy of the father Amir, you know, there are four things that come to my mind. They are Ras Lafon, Al Udeid, Al Jazeera and Education City. I think these are the four things that have proved so transformative, not only for Qatar, but for the region. And they are all examples of two of the, I think, fundamental elements of the father Amir is his vision, his ability to see way beyond, way beyond what anybody could. I mean, who would have imagined today that Al Jazeera or Al Udeid or Ras Lafon or Education City would be what it is? And he saw that 30 years ago. Right. And he had the courage to take the risks that were necessary to do it. I mean, back in 1998 or 2000, everybody thought that Ras Lafon was a gamble, a huge gamble. Well, maybe it was, but it sure paid off. And nobody would have ever imagined that Al Udeid or Al Jazeera or Education City would be the global force that they are today. Final point I want to make, you know, the mark of a great leader to me is somebody who who knows how to build around him a team that can carry forth this vision. Right. You can't do it all alone. Right. You've got to have others with you. Look at again on all these four things, who he brought with him, Abdallah Al-Attiyah, the incredible energy minister, Allah Yakhamu, Sheikh Hamid bin Jassim, his foreign minister, Hamid bin Thamar, the architect of Al Jazeera. And finally, Sheikh Hamoza, this force of nature, really, this incredibly powerful partner of the who made Qatar a beacon for women's empowerment, for development, for the kind of, you know, we talk about soft power, but the kind of international global force for education and development and opportunity and women's rights that I think, again, like so much of Qatar is so unique and atypical of the region. Finally, the other thing that he did in terms of team building was handing over to his Highness Sheikh Tamim. Final point. You know, we talk about Qatar as, you know, gas rich and it's got all this wealth and all this stuff. But the most important resource that Qatar has that Sheikh Hamid developed and built out is its human capital. I mean, look at what this country has been able to accomplish with so few people doing so much. I think that owes a lot to, again, the vision, the leadership of Sheikh Hamid. Adam, I'm going to ask you to pause for a moment, because as you've been pointing out, the father Amir launched the Al Jazeera media network back in 1996, now widely regarded as the godfather of the channel. This was his speech marking its 25th anniversary. His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani has shown unwavering resolve that the Al Jazeera media network will remain a free and independent platform serving audiences across the globe. He's affirmed his steadfast commitment to providing this pioneering network with everything it needs to continue fulfilling its noble mission. And he has categorically rejected any attempt under any circumstances to turn Al Jazeera into a bargaining chip or place it under foreign dictates. Adam, indeed, that free and independent platform still exists today. We're speaking on one pillar of it, the media network more widely, quite a significant part of his legacy. Oh, clearly. I mean, it kind of put Qatar on the way that that only media can. And again, this gets back to the vision of a father of the Amir. You know, today in 2026, the information environment, media is everything. That's how people that's how people breathe through social media. It all started with Al Jazeera, this global network, right, that has more viewers than any other, almost any other global network in the world, more viewers than CNN, more viewers than Fox and CNN. Oh, by the way, was the was the first all 24 hour news network Al Jazeera has taken over. And again, they're just the asymmetry between this tiny country and this huge media platform that is not just TV, but it's social media. And then you've got all the other spinoffs on the BN Sports and that sort of stuff. But, you know, and here's the other thing about Al Jazeera. He mentioned in his remarks, it's not going to be it's not going to be controlled by any foreigner. You know, Al Jazeera is not without controversy. It it it gets people it gets people upset sometimes. But again, you know, to me, that just shows it's doing its job. You're a terrific spokesman for the channel, sir. You should come on more often. I want to talk finally that vision, the vision that you describe. I mean, in essence, this was a vision that this tiny country in the Gulf, Qatar, should punch well above its weight in international affairs, not just in media reach, but in terms of foreign investment, in terms, of course, as well in the mediation role that Qatar so frequently occupies. And it has succeeded. That is a fact today. Yeah, I mean, look, I'm going to get to something that's a little bit maybe a little bit controversial. But, you know, a lot of this and it's true, it's all vision. A lot of this was born of necessity. You know, the fact that Qatar has been so ambitious and and and moving fast, some of it was born of necessity. What is that necessity? Look, Qatar is a small country with big neighbors. It had to defend itself. You could argue that all these things, Ras Lafon, Al Udeid, Al Jazeera, were designed to protect Qatar from aggressive neighbors that wanted to keep it down, that wanted to limit it, that wanted to put it in its place. Well, His Highness, His Highness, Father Amir said, no, not under my watch. I'm going to build Qatar, a Qatar that can stand on its own against anybody near or far who tries to push it around, who tries to limit it, who tries to who tries to curtail its ambitions and its future. And he's done it. So a lot of people say this is all this is all benevolent and great. No, great for humanity and mankind. Yes, it is. But it's also defending the nation, making the nation strong and making the nation independent and nobody, nobody can push Qatar around, thanks to His Highness, Father Amir. Adam Arely, former deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassy in Qatar, thank you for joining us on the program to remember. My pleasure. Thank you. And again, a loss of a great man. Thank you.