• 1968: Britain declares that it will disengage politically from the Gulf in 1971. • 1971: Qatar gains independence from the United Kingdom. • 1972: Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani becomes emir. • 1974: The Qatar General Petroleum Corporation takes control of all oil operations in Qatar. • 1991: Qatar fights against Iraq in the Gulf War. • 1995: Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani takes over as Emir from his father. • 1996: Al-Jazeera is launched. • 1999: The emir endorses women’s suffrage in municipal elections. • 2005: Qatar’s first written constitution is drafted. • 2010: Qatar is selected to host the 2022 FIFA world cup. • 2013: Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani is handed power by his father.