His Excellency Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah – former OPEC President and Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, who was instrumental in establishing Qatar as a liquefied natural gas centre and global energy hub – has passed away.
The Peninsula Qatar said the 73-year-old was regarded as one of Qatar’s most influential figures in the energy sector, with his career spanning 50 years.
He started his career in 1972 with the Ministry of Finance and Petroleum of Qatar and for the next decade, was Head of International and Press Relations.
From 1986-1989, he served as the Director of the Office of the Minister, and from 1989-1992, Director of the office of the Minister of Interior.
©Al-Attiyah Foundation
From September 1992 to January 2011, al-Attiyah was Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry and in November 1993, he was elected OPEC President.
Other high-profile positions included President of the UN Commission of Sustainable Development in 2006, and he chaired COP18 in Doha in 2012.
The Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Attiyah International Foundation for Energy and Sustainable Development was established in 2015. It described him as “a visionary leader, distinguished statesman and trusted mentor”.
Andy Critchlow, Head of Energy News at Dow Jones, said, “His Excellency … was a true giant of OPEC and acknowledged as the ‘godfather of gas’ for his role as the architect of Qatar’s global LNG business.”
